Champions League Review. Match Day 2 – October 3rd & 4th 2023
The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League is really starting to take shape, with plenty of big sides looking to battle their way into the knockout stages and beyond. Defending champions Manchester City look set to make a serious assault on the competition once more, whilst the usual suspects of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their 100% records on match day two.
Group A
It has been a disastrous start to the season for Manchester United, who are languishing in mid-table in the Premier League and are winless in the Champions League. Galatasaray were the latest side to prevail at Old Trafford, coming out 3-2 winners in a topsy-turvy game.
Elsewhere in Group A, Bayern Munich survived a scare against FC Copenhagen, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Jamal Musiala and Mathys Tel in the second half.
MD 2 Results:
Manchester United 2 – 3 Galatasaray
FC Copenhagen 1 – 2 Bayern Munich
Group B
Arsenal suffered one of the shock defeats on Matchday 2, letting a lead slip in their defeat to Lens. All looked to be going swimmingly for the Gunners after Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring, but Lens hit back with goals from Adrien Thomasson and Elye Wahi and the French side deserved their win.
Sevilla travelled to PSV Eindhoven in the other game in Group B, playing out an enthralling 2-2 draw, with the hosts bagging a 95th minute equaliser in a chaotic encounter at the Philips Stadion.
MD 2 Results:
Lens 2 – 1 Arsenal
PSV Eindhoven 2 – 2 Sevilla
Group C
Real Madrid maintained their 100% record in the Champions League, with an enthralling 3-2 win at Napoli. Man of the moment Jude Bellingham netted again for Real, who eventually won the tie through a late Alex Meret own goal.
In the other game, the enormity of the Champions League continues to look too much for Union Berlin, who suffered their second successive injury time loss – at home to Portuguese side Braga.
MD 2 Results:
Napoli 2 – 3 Real Madrid
Union Berlin 2 – 3 Braga
Group D
Last year’s finalists Inter Milan picked up their first Champions League win of the season, edging out Benfica at the San Siro, thanks to Marcus Thuram’s second half strike. Elsewhere, Real Sociedad underlined their credentials with an excellent win on the road at Red Bull Salzburg, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Brais Mendez getting on the scoresheet for the side from the Basque.
MD 2 Results:
Inter Milan 1 – 0 Benfica
Red Bull Salzburg 0 – 2 Real Sociedad
Group E
It was last minute heartache for Scottish Champions Celtic in Glasgow, as they succumbed to a late Pedro strike against Lazio. Kyogo Furuhashi put the hosts in front, with Matias Vecino replying before the Italian side had the last laugh. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid overcame Feyenoord in a 5-goal thriller, with Alvaro Morata (x2) and Antoine Griezmann doing the damage for the Spaniards.
MD 2 Results:
Celtic 1 – 2 Lazio
Atletico Madrid 3 – 2 Feyenoord
Group F
‘The Group of Death’ served up two more superb encounters, as Newcastle United came to the Champions League party, with a thumping 4-1 win over PSG. Goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar were enough to send St James’s Park into delirium. Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan played out a 0-0 draw, with both sides missing big chances to nick all three points in Germany.
MD 2 Results:
Newcastle United 4 – 1 PSG
Borussia Dortmund 0 – 0 AC Milan
Group G
Defending champions Manchester City continued their 100% start, with an impressive triumph on the road at RB Leipzig. Goals from Phil Foden and substitutes Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku took City’s points tally to 6 in the Champions League this term. Elsewhere, Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys shared the spoils, with an entertaining encounter in Belgrade finishing 1-1.
MD 2 Results:
Red Bull Leipzig 1 – 3 Manchester City
Crvena Zvezda 1 – 1 Young Boys
Group H
FC Barcelona also continued their unbeaten start in the Champions League this season, digging deep to overcome Porto on the road, despite finishing the game with 10-men, with Ferran Torres’s strike the difference between the sides. In the other game in Group H, Antwerp surrendered a 2-goal lead as Shakhtar Donetsk came back from 2-0 down to steal all three point in Belgium.
MD 2 Results:
FC Porto 0 – 1 Barcelona
Antwerp 2 – 3 Shakhtar Donetsk
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Author: ChampionsTravel
2023-10-10
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