All the Actions and results from the week 2 of the UEFA Champions League
Basel 5 – 0 Benfica
Basel’s Dimitri Oberlin celebrated his 20th birthday in style with two goals and an assist to lead a 5-0 rout of Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday. Michael Lang put the hosts in front after Oberlin jumped on a loose ball and alertly passed across for Lang to slot home. Oberlin then doubled the hosts’ lead in the 20th minute on a remarkable counter-attack that he started by heading away a corner to a teammate. He then raced the length of the pitch before receiving the ball back to score. In the second half, Oberlin drew a penalty that Ricky van Wolfswinkel dispatched to make it 3-0 on the hour mark, and it got worse for Benfica three minutes as Andre Almeida was sent off for a shocking two-footed challenge. Oberlin then picked off a poor Benfica pass to score Basel’s fourth, and Blas Riveros added a fifth when the ball came back to him after a fine run into the box, just seconds after Basel hit each post with back-to-back shots.
CSKA Moscow 1 – 4 Manchester United
Lukaku started and finished the move for the opener, with the £75million striker heading home a Martial cross after finding the French forward with a raking through-ball just four minutes into the game. Martial then got his name on the scoresheet as he converted from the spot after Henrikh Mkhitaryan was clumsily fouled 18 minutes in, and Lukaku made no mistake with a close-range volley eight minutes later after more poor defending from the hosts. After winning the first-half penalty, Mkhitaryan also found his way onto the scoresheet as he tapped home after Igor Akinfeev – now without a clean sheet in 41 consecutive Champions League appearances – parried a Martial effort just before the hour. CSKA got a late consolation goal as 19-year-old Konstantin Kuchaev came off the bench to beat David De Gea with a low drive from an acute angle.
Anderlecht 0 – 3 Celtic
Celtic posed little threat for much of the half until a moment of inspiration from 20-year-old Tierney stirred the match into a life. The defender was released in behind by Olivier Ntcham’s incisive pass and fed a perfect low cross from the left to the far post, where Griffiths was waiting to tap in the opener. Rodgers’ side were given a let-off shortly after the interval when Gordon failed to hold a long-range Hanni drive, with Teodorczyk’s miscued follow-up ruled offside. And they quickly punished Anderlecht for an error of their own as Roberts robbed Olivier Deschacht of possession, cut inside from the right and saw his shot from the edge of the area deflect in off Kara – the substitute credited with an own goal. Celtic steadied as the match ticked towards its conclusion and had Gordon to thank for expertly tipping over a Pieter Gerkens strike, before Sinclair pounced on another turnover by striding clean through on goal and finishing coolly with the final kick of the game.
Paris Saint Germain 3 – 0 Bayern Munich
Dani Alves fired the hosts into the lead after just 84 seconds following a great run and pass by Neymar. Alphonse Areola produced a flying save to deny Javi Martinez an equaliser before PSG sealed the points. Edinson Cavani’s first time shot doubled the lead before Neymar made it 3-0 from close range.
Qarabag FK 1 – 2 Roma
Qarabag duly gifted the visitors a seventh minute lead when goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic poorly punched a corner straight at Lorenzo Pellegrini, who volleyed it in for Manolas’ diving header. Roma doubled their advantage eight minutes later with a well-worked move that ended with Stephan El Shaarawy flicking a cross into the area. Dzeko chested the ball down before lifting it above Sehic — with his shot clipping the underside of the bar on its way in. However, Roma paid the price for their complacency when Maxime Gonalons was caught in possession by Dino Ndlovu who sent in a through ball for Henrique to blast into the back of the net.
Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 Chelsea
The Blues fell behind to a 40th-minute Antoine Griezmann penalty despite having the better of the first half when David Luiz needlessly pulled the shirt of Lucas Hernandez at a corner. But Chelsea, who hit the post through Eden Hazard in the opening stages, again impressed after the interval and were rewarded when Alvaro Morata equalised with his fourth goal in five days. The Spaniard deftly flicked Hazard’s accurate left-wing cross into the far corner for his first Champions League goal for Chelsea. Batshuayi’s winner came after missed opportunities for Cesc Fabregas and Morata as Chelsea became the first English team to win away at Atletico and condemn them to defeat in their first European game at their new stadium.
Juventus 2 – 0 Olympiacos
Gonzalo Higuain proved his doubters wrong as he came off the bench to set Juventus on its way to a 2-0 win against Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday. Higuain, who has been dropped from the Argentina squad, was left out of Juve’s starting lineup for the second successive match. But he was brought on for Juan Cuadrado on the hour mark and responded by scoring nine minutes later and then helping to line up his team’s second goal. Mario Mandzukic netted Juve’s second as the Italian side moved onto three points in Group D.
Sporting CP 0 – 1 Barcelona
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both wasted excellent chances in the opening 45 minutes. However, Barca never looked in danger once Sebastian Coates bundled into his own net while under pressure from Suarez.
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