The Champions League returned for its second matchday of the season and once again it served up all the drama we needed.
From the drama of the first kick-offs to the tidbits later in the night, Tuesday’s games featured plenty of great goals and fascinating entertainment. There was also the remarkable return of a certain Robert Lewandowski to the former club Bayern Munich.
Here is the summary of the action of the evening’s play.
Liverpool 2-1 Ajax
There was just one match played in Group A on Tuesday night as Rangers’ game against Napoli was pushed back by a day.
Liverpool went ahead against Ajax through Mohamed Salah but were caught when Mohammed Kudus swept away a flowing movement from the visitors aided by a loose defence.
However, Joel Matip appeared in the 89th minute to put the Reds ahead and score their first points in Europe this season.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Two goals in three minutes late in the second half gave Bayer Leverkusen a vital victory over Atletico Madrid.
In a game which saw Antonio Griezmann substituted around the 63rd minute – again – the deadlock was finally broken as Robert Andrich headed in six minutes from time.
The Bundesliga side secured victory with another strike from speedster Moussa Diaby.
Porto 0-4 Club Brugge
Perhaps the biggest shock of the evening came in Portugal, where Belgian side Club Brugge won 4-0 against Porto.
Ferran Jutglà got ahead of the visitors with a 15th-minute penalty before the visitors took the game away in the Primeira Liga. Kamal Sowah and Andreas Skov Olsen scored within five minutes before Antonio Nusa made it 4-0 late in the second half.
Brugge are now top of Group B with two wins already.
Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona
Bayern Munich eventually brushed aside Barcelona thanks to strikes from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane.
Robert Lewandowski returned to the Allianz Arena after his high-profile departure from Germany and the Polish striker struggled on his old ground, missing a host of excellent chances.
He and Barca had to pay for their inefficiency as Hernandez headed in from a corner before Sane made a sweeping move finishing past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Viktoria Plzen 0-2 Inter
Inter secured their first European points on the board by comfortably beating minnows Viktoria Plzen 2-0.
Edin Dzeko’s opener, assisted by Joaquin Correa, got the Nerazzurri going and they were helped by a 61st-minute red card for home midfielder Pavel Bucha.
Denzel Dumfries secured the result soon after, finishing through Dzeko’s assist to end an easy night’s work for Inter.
Sporting CP 2-0 Tottenham
Tottenham must have regretted a poor performance in Portugal as two late strikes saw Sporting CP emerge 2-0 winners.
Spurs struggled to have attacking ease with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min off the pace, and they eventually fell behind when substitute Paulinho headed in from a corner.
The disorganization in Spurs’ ranks was evident when Arthur Gomes, only off the bench for a minute, made it 2-0 by sneaking in and finishing past Hugo Lloris.
Marseille 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt bounced back from their Matchday 1 loss to Sporting CP by beating Marseille 1-0.
Jesper Lindstrom’s half-time effort was enough to separate the two teams, with Marseille now having to overturn a huge deficit after two defeats in two games.