On Matchday 2 of Champions League Matchday 3, Group E got much tighter, with Chelsea earning their first Champions League victory with a 3-0 win over AC Milan. The Blues were able to defend Stamford Bridge despite losing Wesley Fofana to injury in the first half. Sergino Dest had a game to forget leaving for AC Milan with Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount passing him easily to help set Chelsea up for the game. Things are tight now with just two points separating Group E leaders RB Salzburg from fourth-placed Dinamo Zagreb.
PSG and Benfica also took steps to secure qualification with a 1-1 draw in Portugal as Messi’s goal was canceled out by an own goal from Danilo. This puts both teams atop Group H with seven points. Juventus gained ground with their first Champions League win, a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa, but a hat-trick from Angel Di Maria could not close their four-point gap between the leaders.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland scored a brace as Manchester City beat Copenhagen five, and Jude Bellingham became the third-youngest captain in Champions League history as Dortmund brushed aside Sevilla 4-1.
The Wednesday bulletin board
Group E
Red Bull Salzburg 1, Dinamo Zagreb 0
Chelsea 3, AC Milan 0
Group F
RB Leipzig 3, Celtic 1
Real Madrid 2, Shakhtar Donetsk 1
Group G
Manchester City 5, FC Copenhagen 0
Sevilla 1, Borussia Dortmund 4
Group H
Benfica 1, Paris Saint Germain 1
Juventus 3, Maccabi Haifa 1
Here are some takeaways from the matches:
Haaland continues to deliver
He needed just one half to earn a brace for Manchester City, continuing his scoring streak. That’s now 19 goals in all competitions with goals in nine consecutive games for Norweigan. October has just started. It feels like Haaland will score every time he hits the pitch and nothing we’ve seen this season feels like it will stop. Twelve games into his Manchester City career, Haaland has scored more goals than most strikers will score in an entire season. Lionel Messi’s goalscoring record in all competitions in a single season must be on the line. Messi scored 73 goals in his magical 2011-12 season for Barcelona and Haaland is already 26% of the way there without having yet played a third of the season. If Pep Guardiola is able to give Haaland more rest in games by firing him at half-time, there’s no reason to doubt his ability to reach Messi’s record.
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Messi, Mbappe and Neymar combine for incredible goal
When the PSG trio are able to play to each other’s strengths, the result is usually magnificent. Although it wasn’t enough to secure a win over Benfica due to an own goal from Danilo Pereira, Messi’s goal was something to admire. Messi was able to kick the chance before quickly getting into position to ensure he found himself in the back of the net.
Maybe the goal of the week with just a brilliant curling effort.
Sevilla keep slipping, sack manager
There were already reports that Sevilla were leaving manager Julen Lopetegui and if that wasn’t already set in stone, an uninspired defeat like allowing Borussia Dortmund four goals at home was enough to tip the scales. Sevilla have one Champions League point while allowing eight goals from three games, while they are also one point above the relegation zone in La Liga. Lopetegui was visibly upset after the game and it didn’t take long after the final whistle to find out why as he was let go by the Spanish club.
Assuming this was a pre-determined move as Wolves are interested in Lopetegui for their managerial opener and Jorge Sampaoli could return to Sevilla, it’s still best to play these games with a caretaker manager instead. It’s hard for players to be motivated when they know a manager’s future is already close. While Sevilla scored one goal, it wasn’t until the second half that the result was already determined. Sevilla could still qualify for the knockout stages, but with them five points behind Dortmund for second place in the group, a return to the Europa League seems to be their ceiling.
Super Angel Di Maria
With Juventus expected to win against Maccabi Haifa, a comprehensive 3-1 win could help boost their confidence. Angel Di Maria netted a hat-trick of assists while Andre Rabiot netted a brace. Max Allegri will be disappointed that Wojciech Szczesny allowed a goal when caught out of his net, but they’ve done enough. They have never lost three Champions League games in a row and it won’t be a disappointing result Allegri faces on Wednesday. The team will need more to qualify for the knockout stages, but their European season had to start somewhere.
RB Leipzig injury concerns
The day started with a bittersweet 3-1 victory for RB Leipzig over Celtic at home. While victory is important for RB Leipzig to claim their first Champions League victory, injuries to Peter Gulacsi and David Raum will worry manager Marco Rose. Gulacsi is the Leipzig captain who starts every game but two this season and has offered big sticks on several occasions to ensure the team never really runs out of games. Also capable of launching counter-attacks with his back pass, leaving with a non-contact injury after just 13 minutes could be quite worrying. His replacement Janis Blaswich is an experienced keeper in the Netherlands and Germany’s lower division, but with just four appearances for RB Leipzig, Gulacsi missing a lot of time could cause the team’s defense to slow down.