Erling Haaland stunned former side Dortmund as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain recovered from going 1-0 down to record second wins.
Erling Haaland scored a spectacular winner against former side Dortmund as Manchester City came from behind to make it two wins from two. Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi were all on target in another comeback for Paris Saint-Germain away to Maccabi Haifa while Napoli won an eventful encounter at Rangers and there was disappointment for Chelsea and Juventus.
Group A
Rangers 0-3 Napoli
Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspatori and Tanguy Ndombélé scored second-half goals as Napoli wrapped up the points despite Allan McGregor saving two of the three penalties he faced after James Sands was sent off on 56 minutes. Piotr Zieliński was twice denied – the second a retake after the encroaching Politano converted the first on the rebound – before Politano made it third time lucky midway through the second period. Late goals from Raspatori and Ndombélé gave the scoreline a one-sided appearance.
Key stat: At 40 years and 266 days, McGregor is the fifth oldest player to appear in the Champions League.
Group E
AC Milan 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo arrived in Milan intent on reusing the game plan that served them so well in their opening victory over Chelsea: defend deep and hit on the break. Olivier Giroud’s penalty moments before the break for the dominant hosts was not in the script, and Alexis Saelemaekers’s header seconds after the restart consigned it to the bin. Dinamo showed more intent and Mislav Oršić pulled one back, but hopes of a fairy-tale ending vanished when substitute Tommaso Pobega rifled in.
Key stat: Milan’s victory was the seven-time winners’ first at home in the Champions League in nine years.
Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg
Noah Okafor’s close-range finish denied Graham Potter a winning start to his Chelsea career. The Blues dominated the first half but were unable to force Philipp Köhn into a save. Raheem Sterling put the Londoners ahead shortly after the restart with a fine curling effort but Salzburg grew into the game and Okafor converted Junior Adamu’s centre with 15 minutes remaining. Substitutes Hakim Ziyech and Armando Broja went close as the hosts pushed for a winner, but the Austrian champions held firm.
Key stat: Only one Englishman can better Sterling’s tally of 25 Champions League goals: Wayne Rooney (30).
Group F
Shakhtar 1-1 Celtic
Another piece of Mykhailo Mudryk magic helped peg Celtic back in Warsaw. The Hoops’ strong start paid off when Reo Hatate’s cross trickled in via a deflection off Artem Bondarenko. Moments after Moritz Jenz was denied by Anatoliy Trubin, Georgiy Sudakov’s clever pass released Mudryk, who outpaced Josip Juranović before powering an effort into the net. Celtic had the better of a cagey second half, but substitutes Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda were unable produce a winner.
Key stat: Celtic have won just two of their 34 Champions League away matches.
Real Madrid 2-0 Leipzig
Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio scored eye-catching late goals as the holders edged out Leipzig. The home side appeared vulnerable early on, Christopher Nkunku going close on three occasions. Madrid, who lacked fluency, looked set to fail to score in a Champions League group game for just the second time in 41 outings. Yet Valverde collected a Vinícius Júnior pass and curled in before substitute Asensio fired a superb second in added time.
Key stat: Real Madrid have won eight out of eight in all competitions this season.
Group G
Man City 2-1 Dortmund
Two stunning late goals helped Manchester City come from behind to beat Dortmund. After a laboured first half, the visitors took the lead when Jude Bellingham stole in to head in Marco Reus’ driven cross. City struggled to break the resilient visitors down, and it took a fine strike from John Stones from outside the box to level. That set the stage for Haaland’s spectacular winner against the side he departed this summer, converting a no-less stunning cross from João Cancelo.
Key stat: Manchester City have equalled Chelsea’s record of 21 home Champions League games without defeat.
Maccabi Haifa 1-3 Paris
Mbappé became Paris’ joint leading Champions League goalscorer as the French title holders avoided a shock. Tjaronn Chery’s superb volley put the home side ahead after 24 minutes to delight a packed Sammy Ofer Stadium. But Mbappé’s pace helped set up Lionel Messi for an equaliser and the roles were reversed in the second half when Mbappé scored his 30th Champions League goal for the club, drawing level with Edinson Cavani. Neymar sealed it late on.
Key stat: Messi is the first player to score in 18 successive Champions League seasons, moving ahead of Karim Benzema (17).
Group H
Juventus 1-2 Benfica
Benfica came from a goal down to consign Juventus to their second straight defeat in Group H. Arkadiusz Milik put Juventus ahead after just four minutes when he headed in Leandro Paredes’ free-kick. Yet Benfica escaped further damage despite Juve’s early dominance and were on level terms before half-time when João Mário converted from the spot after Fabio Miretti was adjudged to have brought down Rafa Silva. The Eagles grew in confidence and David Neres fired in the winner after the break.
Key stat: Benfica recorded their first win on Italian soil in European competition since they beat Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1997.
