Lionel Messi helps PSG win, Controversial penalty call in Milan, and two Spanish giants fall.

By: Emmanuel Mendez

Matchday two of the Champions League included another spectacular display of football drama that had fans on the edge of their seats. A record was broken, one anticipated goal had been delivered and one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history occurred in only the second matchday of this year’s competition.

Tuesday night showcased Inter Milan visiting Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine in a game that ended 0-0. Inter`s striker Edin Dzeko had a clear chance to score but couldn’t convert. 

It was a poor game for the Italians against the Ukrainians. 

Ajax on the other hand continued their good form this season as they defeated Besiktas at home 2-0. Steven Berghuis scored in the 13th minute and Sebastian Haller scored before halftime. 

That is now five goals in two matchdays for the 27-year-old.

Dortmund without Erling Haaland defeated Sporting CP 1-0 due to a goal by their new signing Donyell Malen. Dortmund would score a few more times but was called offside.

Club Brugge displayed another good performance after they drew against PSG on the last matchday. Brugge defeated RB Leipzig 2-1 away from home.

Liverpool thrashes FC Porto 5-1 away from home. Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored braces while Sadio Mane scored one. Mehdi Taremi was the converter for the Portuguese side.

AC Milan played at home in the Champions League for the first time since 2014. Milan hosted Atletico Madrid in a game that ended 2-1 in favor of Atletico. Rafael Leao gave Milan the lead in the 20th minute and momentum was on the Italians side.

Franck Kessie received a second yellow in the 29th minute and was sent off; Milan had now 10 men. It was Atletico’s game after that, and the equalizer came in the 84th minute thanks to Antoine Griezmann. 

A controversial penalty was given to Atletico in the last minutes of the game when a handball was observed. During the incident, the ball looks to have hit Atletico`s Thomas Lemar’s hand first before hitting Milan`s defender Pierre Kalulu`s hand. 

Luis Suarez scored and gave Atletico a controversial three points.

Sheriff Tiraspol pulled off a historic win as they defeated Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. This is Sheriff’s first-ever appearance in the Champions League and he has 6 points after two games. 

Jasurbek Yakhshiboev scored a header to give Sheriff the lead. Karim Benzema equalized after scoring a penalty. 

In the 89th minute, Sebastien Thill scored a beautiful half-volley that went to the top corner. Real Marid had 31 shots in total with 11 shots on target while Sheriff took four shots and three were on target. 

PSG beat Man City 2-0 in a somewhat close game. PSG looked better in the first half and started off well when Idrissa Gueye scored for the Parisians.

Man City had many close chances like the chance Bernardo Silva missed when the ball hit the crossbar. In the second half, PSG was looking to exploit the City defense on the counter. 

In the 74th minute, Lionel Messi cut inside to give a one-two pass with Kylian Mbappe and would score his first goal for PSG. Messi placed it in the right corner to beat Ederson and helped PSG get the crucial three points.

The following day showcased Atalanta vs Young Boys. Atalanta beat Young Boys 1-0 in Bergamo and Matteo Pessina was the goal scorer. Meanwhile, Zenit smashed Malmo 4-0 in Russia with a great performance from Claudinho, who scored the first goal. 

Wolfsburg and Sevilla drew 1-1 in Germany. Renato Steffen scored for the Germans and in the final minutes, Ivan Rakitic scored off a penalty. 

From the same group, RB Salzburg and Lillie played each other. Salzburg won 2-1 against Lillie due to two penalties from 19-year-old Karim Adeyemi. 

Burak Yilmaz scored from a free-kick for the French champions.

Bayern Munich destroyed Dynamo Kyiv 5-0 and has looked like the most dangerous team so far in the competition. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace while Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and Choupo-Moting also scored.

FC Barcelona continued their poor form, and they lost to Benfica 3-0. Darwin Nunez scored a brace and Rafa Silva also scored. 

Benfica had more chances, but Barca had good chances to score. Luuk de Jong had two clear chances that should’ve been goals. 

Time is running out for Ronald Koeman at the helm of Barca by the results in the past games.

Juventus defeated the current champions Chelsea 1-0 thanks to Federico Chiesa.  Chiesa scored in just 11 seconds of the second half. 

He caught the Chelsea defense by surprise and that goal was enough to defeat the Blues. Their defense was on point against the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku. 

Manchester United vs Villareal was a closer game than expected. Villareal performed great and had many chances to score early but David de Gea kept United in the game. 

They would score first after Paco Alacer put in through De Gea`s legs in the second half. Alex Telles scored a volley that tied the game. 

In the last minute of the game, the reliable Cristiano Ronaldo saved the day and scored to win the game. Villareal deserved more from the game but when you have a player like Ronaldo, you might be at a disadvantage from the beginning.