New Delhi: UEFA Champions League’s second round has finally taken off and we have witnessed some big results tonight where some of the biggest European clubs went head to head against each other. The first round saw number of clubs kicking their campaigns off in stunning fashion while others are taking their time to get the ground running. However, the second matchday produced some high scoring games where the teams were absolutely relentless on the pitch.
There no doubt about the fact that it was a goalfest in the second round of Champions League 2024/25 season, where teams like Manchester City, Dortmund, Barcelona and Inter managed to cruise past their opponents while other sides such as Arsenal and Leverkusen also managed to win their clashes. Here’s a look at how things shaped and a short round up of what all happended tonight in the champions league.
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City
FULL-TIME | Fantastic four in Bratislava 🙌
⚪️ 0-4 🤎 #ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/SEanFTezSx
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 1, 2024
Manchester City managed to win the clash comfortably against the Slovakian side Bratislava. City had put on a completely dominant performance, as they were leading Slovan Bratislava 2-0 at the half in Slovakia. Eight minutes into the game, Gundogan blasted home the first goal to conclude a string of intense crosses from City. Gundogan was left with the opportunity to score, and he fired one goal that beat Takac off-balance and deflected off Savvidis.
In the fifteenth minute, Foden extended the lead with a neat curling shot into the bottom left corner after Doku’s ball managed to find him. It added a special touch to Foden’s first start of the season. Following the break, City maintained their dominant possession of the ball as Slovan found it difficult to get a touch on it. The absence of Haaland’s influence was one pattern that persisted into the second phase. Despite only registering six touches throughout the first half, he increased the visitors’ lead when he rounded Takac after Lewis slid him in.
Even though the Slovan goalkeeper had a busy night, he was unable to change the final four goals scored by McAtee, who scored 15 minutes from time after a fantastic Foden dinked ball. With nine goals given up in two games, the Slovakian champions’ UCL season has gotten off to a rough start.
Arsenal 2-0 PSG
Making our mark in the Champions League ✨ pic.twitter.com/9IVG93mM1P
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 1, 2024
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal carried a 2-0 heading into halftime. As Trossard sprinted quickly into the opposition defence, he floated an inch perfect cross to the back post, where Havertz nodded the ball beyond Donnarumma to give the Gunners the lead. Just 15 minutes after the first goal, Saka’s free kick slid into the back of the net, as Arteta’s team pulled ahead with two goals. Although PSG had dominated the possession game in the first half, Arsenal looked much more threatening in the first half.
PSG took control of the game after the interval, but the Gunners, who did slow down their hunt for goals after a fiery first half, remained committed to defending their lead. The following round of the competition will see Arsenal host Shakhtar Donetsk and PSG host PSV Eindhoven.
Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys
🔥 FULL TIME!!!!! 🔥#BarçaYoungBoys pic.twitter.com/ckbeK9UndA
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 1, 2024
Barcelona secured their first Champions League victory of the year as they managed to thrash Young Boys 5-0. Barcelona’s impressive first half display against saw them running away with a 3-0 lead. Lewandowski gave the home team an early lead with a close range goal, finishing off a well-drilled cross from Raphinha. The home team had a strong start. After a brief corner was taken, Pedri’s effort was stopped, and the Brazilian scored on the rebound to give them a two goal lead. Shortly after, Martinez headed home Pedri’s cross from a corner to give Barca a three-goal advantage and all but conclude the game.
From the beginning to the conclusion, Flick’s team dominated, and at halftime, Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Martinez all scored goals to put the game to bed. The Swiss team found it difficult to handle players with precise footwork, such as Yamal and Pedri, during the first half, and the situation did not get much better after the interval. The veteran Pole made it two goals with a close-range header, and the terrible own goal near the end by captain Ali-Camara sealed a miserable evening for the reigning Swiss champions.
Dortmund 7-1 Celtic
SEVEN. YEA. SEVEN. 🥵 pic.twitter.com/Hy4PYjVJUR
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 1, 2024
A ruthless performance by outstanding Borussia Dortmund sees Celtic smashed 7-1 in their first away encounter of the Champions League season, as Adeyemi netted a hat-trick to thrill the home crowd. Can had given the hosts an early penalty to put them ahead, and Guirassy added two more goals before Nmecha wrapped up the scoring. With the terrible defense and tactical uncertainty of their opponents,
Nuri Sahin’s only setbacks came from Celtic’s equalizer and Adeyemi’s injury in the second half, the player who had played the best of all before leaving. It doesn’t get any easier for Celtic, as the Scottish champions will face Atalanta in Bergamo later this month. BVB next takes on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in an enticing rematch of last season’s final.
Inter Milan 4-0 Red Star Belgrade
4 GOALS ⚽⚽⚽⚽
4 SCORERS ⚽⚽⚽⚽#ForzaInter #InterFKCZ #UCL pic.twitter.com/ArQoteILde
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) October 1, 2024
Inter defeated Red Star 4-0 at the San Siro to earn their first three points in the new league phase of the Champions League. Calhanoglu’s free kick gave Inter the lead early in the first half, but they were unable to extend it until Arnautovic punished a mistake made by the visitors in the back in the second half.
After the Argentine was fouled inside the penalty area, Taremi, who had already provided two assists, stepped up and coolly converted from the spot. Martinez then punished another mistake at the back to complete the triumph. Red Star is still looking for their first Champions League victory while playing away from home.
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan
Heimsieg! 💫#B04Milan 1:0 | #UCL | #Bayer04 pic.twitter.com/eJjl3IMH8N
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) October 1, 2024
Bayer Leverkusen defeated Milan 1-0 at the BayArena to make it two wins from two in the Champions League. Nigerian striker Boniface scored the sole goal of the game early in the second half but Alonso’s side risked squandering points after failing to transform possession into clearcut scoring opportunities.
The German champions dominated the first half, with Boniface’s goal in the 21st minute being disallowed for offside following a VAR review. However, six minutes into the second half, the Leverkusen striker scored from close range after Maignan had stopped Frimpong’s effort. After entering the game just after the hour mark, Milan’s Morata missed a couple opportunities to score before Theo Hernandez struck the crossbar for the Rossoneri, who concluded with a robust 17 shots.
PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Sporting CP
⏹ Empate dos Leões, no segundo jogo na @ChampionsLeague.
⚽ D. Bragança
🔴 1-1 🟢 // #PSVSCP #UCL pic.twitter.com/ywanRIW9jA
— Sporting CP (@SportingCP) October 1, 2024
After being dominated in the majority part of the game, Sporting would be the happier side of the two teams. After ten minutes had gone, the game abruptly started to move. PSV used a strong attack to force a corner, from which Schouten received the ball. After setting the ball with a single touch, the Dutch international fired a few yards outside the box and into the bottom left corner of the net. At halftime, the score was 1-0 in favor of the home team as a result. At the half, Sporting had no chance at all, and for much of the second half, they didn’t have any.
PSV had numerous opportunities to end the game with goals that appeared definite, but players like de Jong, Til, and Bakayoko in particular were unable to put the ball in the net. With 83 minutes remaining, replacement Araujo sent a cross to Braganca at the near post, making them regret those opportunities. With a volley, he leaped to meet the ball and used the outside of his left foot to direct his effort into the goal.
The first night of UEFA Champions League 2024/25 comes to an end as it was a goalfest and a treat to watch. Here’s a look at how things shaped. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
