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Manchester City cruised to a 3-0 win in Ukraine to get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start. The blues are the bookies favourites to lift the trophy for the first time, but the competitions looks fierce this season, so let’s take a look at what else happened across Europe.
Debutants Atalanta, City’s group C rivals, were hammered 4-0 by Dinamo Zagreb, a result that kept the blues off the top of Group C table. The Italians were 3-0 down at halftime, with Mislav Orsic scoring two, before completing his hat trick in the 68th minute. Zagreb arrive in Manchester on 1st October for the early top of the table clash.
In Group A, PSG beat Real Madrid 3-0, with former United winger Angel di Maria scoring two, while Club Brugge and Galatasaray played out a goalless draw.
Group B saw Spurs throw away a two-goal lead at Olympiakos to draw 2-2 in Greece. Harry Kane and Lucas Moura had given the Londoners the lead, but the home side pulled a goal back before half time, then scored a second half penalty to rescue a point. German giants Bayern Munich beat Red Star Belgrade 3-0 in the group’s other game.
The big game in Group D saw Atletico Madrid host Juventus, and the Italian champions took a two-goal lead in the second half. However, Atletico fought back and scored a last-minute equaliser save a point. Former City defender Stefan Savic had scored the home side’s fist goal to begin the comeback. In the group’s other game, Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 2-1 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow, which sees the Russian side top the group.
On Tuesday night, Erling Braut Haaland scored a first half hat-trick as Red Bull Salzburg thrashed KRC Genk 6-2 in Austria, with the home side 5-0 up at half time. If the name sounds familiar to City fans, then it should be – Haaland is the son of former City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland. But the big result in Group E was Napoli’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool, which saw the Merseysiders become the first defending champions since 1994 to lose the first Champions League match the following season.
Group F saw just two goals between four teams, when Inter Milan drew 1-1 with Slavia Prague, while Jadon Sancho’s Borussia Dortmund missed a penalty as Barcelona held them to a goalless draw in Germany.
Group G saw City’s opening day conquerors last season Lyon held to a 1-1 draw by Zenit St Petersburg, while Benfica suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat to German side RB Leipzig
And finally, Group F saw Chelsea return to the Champions League and immediately suffer defeat at the hands of Valencia, who left Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 win. Ross Barkley had a chance to level from the penalty spot, but his spot-kick grazed the bar before flying over, to condemn Chelsea to defeat. In the other game, last season’s semi-finalists Ajax recorded a comfortable 3-0 home win over Lille.