Matchday one of the UEFA Champions League is over after 26 goals in eight matches on Wednesday. Liverpool were demolished in Napoli, while Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Tottenham were all victorious in the latest list. At the start, Ajax beat Rangers 4-0 while Sporting Lisbon traveled to Eintracht Frankfurt and picked up a lopsided victory. There was plenty of drama, but we’ll have to wait and see if any of the managers from that day will meet the fate of some of the coaches from Tuesday. Both Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel and RB Leipzig’s Domenic have been dismissedwith Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui likely on thin ice after his team’s start.
Here’s a look at the scores and what to know from Wednesday’s matches:
Wednesday scores
All times Eastern
Ajax 4, Rangers 0
Sporting Lisbon 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Napoli 4, Liverpool 1
Tottenham 2, Marseille 0
Bayern Munich 2, Inter 0
Barcelona 5, Viktoria Plzen 1
Club Brugge 1, Leverkusen 0
Atletico Madrid 2, Porto 1
Crisis in Liverpool?
Liverpool’s dominance has come to what looks like a screeching halt with manager Jurgen Klopp searching for answers. A side that once looked unstoppable now look mediocre with an atrocious defense seeing them concede the first goal in five of their seven games played this season.
It was another shocking performance from the Reds, the most worrying of the season, losing 4-1 at Napoli on Wednesday. They were completely beaten by an inspired Italian team that stayed hot.
Liverpool’s defense was out of sync, Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to be exposed as a below average defender, and they had no response at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.
But Napoli deserve major credit. They had to rebuild, in a sense, but they really reloaded. With club legends Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz all leaving in the summer transfer window, they’ve looked incredible with Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia becoming an absolute superstar.
New signing Gio Simeone has also found the back of the net as Napoli announce he is here to stay. What a memorable evening for the hosts, as Liverpool hope to soon forget what they have just experienced.
Lewandowski gives instant credibility to Barca
It seems too early to say Barcelona are a contender. With all the new signings, it’s going to take a while to fully gel. But Robert Lewandowski is a big enough player for Barca to be in this competition. He scored three times against Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday, recording his sixth career UCL hat-trick. Only Lionel Mesi and Cristiano Ronaldo have more. and Lewandowski is the first player to record a Champions League hat-trick for three different clubs having done so with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund previously.
With the Polish striker dominating in attack and Jules Kounde looking like an absolute stallion, Barca seem to have something special in the works, and Wednesday felt like a small sample of that. But we’ll really know what they’re made of next week when they travel to Bayern Munich with Lewandowski against his former side.
Tottenham stay loyal and get rewarded
It’s a nice way to introduce yourself on your Champions League debut, Richarlison. The Brazil star scored two headers in the second half as Tottenham took advantage of a man after Chance Mangula’s red card in the 47th minute.
The former Everton man was a sharp signing for Antonio Conte and contributed to the team’s creativity in attack, but being on the scoresheet will come as a relief. Here is his winning goal:
His fantastic form comes as Heung-min Son is yet to score this season. Assuming Son regains his form, this could be the year the trophy drought ends.
Bonkers game of the day
Atletico Madrid against Porto left a lot to be desired for the first 90 minutes. There were some decent chances, but it wasn’t the game you were going to be stuck with unless you were a fan of either team. But if you decided to go back for more time, you were treated to some spectacular moments. Three goals came in injury time with Antoine Griezmann scoring the winner with his header at the back post. Looked:
Golazo of the day
This award goes to Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus for his delightful turn and one-shot flare in the 4-0 win over Rangers.
When is day 2?
Buckle up, because the second day will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is the complete program:
Tuesday September 13
Sporting Lisbon v Tottenham, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Viktoria Pilsen vs Inter Milan, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Liverpool vs. Ajax, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Rangers v Napoli, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Marseille vs Eintracht Frankfurt, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Bayern Munich vs Barcelona, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Porto vs. Club Brugge, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Wednesday September 14
AC Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Shaktar Donestk v Celtic, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Chelsea v RB Salzburg, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Juventus v Benfica, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
FC Copenhagen vs Sevilla, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Maccabi Haifa vs PSG, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)