Real Madrid loses 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk
Spanish Champions Real Madrid suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener.
Shakhtar quickly raced into a 3-0 lead despite missing a host of players to coronavirus, with Raphael Varane’s own goal in the 33rd minute coming in between strikes from Mateus Tete who opened the scoring in the 29th minute, and Manor Solomon in the 42nd minute.
Luka Modric started off the failed attempt at a comeback as he pulled one back for Real in the 54th minute before Vinicius Junior struck just 15 seconds after coming off the bench. But the equaliser proved elusive as Zinedine Zidane’s side were humbled by the Ukrainians.
Real’s midfielder Federico Valverde thought he had snatched an unlikely point for the Spaniards in injury-time but after a check at the pitchside monitor, Vinicius was ruled offside and interfering with play.
Real, who next faces Barcelona in the Spanish El Clasico, were playing at their 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano training ground as building work takes place at the Bernabeu, but it is Zidane’s squad that looked in need of renovation on this showing.
They were desperate to bounce back from a surprise 1-0 defeat by Cadiz at the weekend, but things quickly went from bad to worse for the 13-time European champions.
Shakhtar won despite being without 10 first-team players due to injury or coronavirus.
Champions League results: Juventus, Barcelona win Plus other results
Champions League results: Manchester United vs PSG; Chelsea vs Sevilla Plus other reports
Manchester City 3-1 Porto: Pep Guardiola’s side start Champions League campaign with a win
Manchester City survived, to beat Porto 3-1 in Group C after an early scare in their opening Champions League encounter.
It was seeming to be a frustrating night for Pep Guardiola, whose City side has bowed out at the quarter-final stage for three consecutive seasons, as they fell behind when Luis Díaz netted a fine individual effort inside the first 15 minutes of the game.
City, however, responded to the early setback within a few minutes. Sergio Aguero scored his first goal in 231 days from the penalty spot after Pepe fouled Raheem Sterling.
The usual slickness associated with Guardiola’s side wasn’t there for the majority of the performance but a sublime free-kick from Ilkay Gundogan and a fine finish from substitute Ferran Torres saw off the Portuguese champions, who have yet to win a match on English soil in 20 attempts.
Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)
- Guardiola has overseen 76 UEFA Champions League victories since his very first game as a manager in September 2008, at least 19 more wins than his closest rival, Jose Mourinho (57).
- Both teams have scored in each of Manchester City’s last eight UEFA Champions League fixtures, with the Citizens now on their longest wait for a clean sheet in the competition since between February 2015 & February 2016 (9 matches).
- Sterling has won 20 penalties for Manchester City since Pep Guardiola first took charge of the club in August 2016, at least eight more than any other Premier League player over this period.
- Porto defender Pepe (5) has conceded more Champions League penalties than any other player since the beginning of the 2003-04 campaign.
- Foden has been directly involved in six goals in his last seven Champions League appearances for Manchester City (three goals & three assists), this despite being a substitute in four of those games.
Ajax 0-1 Liverpool: Premier League champions Liverpool helped by Nicolas Tagliafico’s unfortunate own goal
Liverpool, in their first game without inspirational defender Virgil van Dijk, came through unscathed as Nicolas Tagliafico’s own goal gave them a 1-0 Champions League win at Ajax.
Tagliafico stumbled onto Sadio Mane’s mis-hit shot to divert it beyond Andre Onana 10 minutes before half-time in what would prove to be the only goal of the game in an open match at the Johann Cruyff Arena.
Liverpool would b proud to have kept a clean sheet despite the absence their talismanic defender, as stand-in centre back Fabinho proved an adequate replacement at the back, denying Dusan Tadic on the line with an acrobatic clearance before the break.
Davy Klaassen, who once played for Liverpool’s arch-rival Everton, nearly haunted them two minutes into the second period but was denied by the foot of the post with Adrian beaten, while the Liverpool goalkeeper also made important saves in either half from Quincy Promes.
But Liverpool defended resolutely for the most part on a night as they successfully came through their first test without the world’s second-most expensive defender in their ranks.
Other Wednesday results in the Champions League
WEDNESDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2020
- RB Salzburg 2-2 Lokomotiv Moscow
- Real Madrid 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Bayern Munich 4-0 Atl Madrid
- Inter Milan 2-2 B Mgladbach
- Man City 3-1 FC Porto
- Olympiakos 1-0 Marseille
- Ajax 0-1 Liverpool
- FC Midtjylland 0-4 Atalanta
I pray God see you tru