After taking every week off, the group stage of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League resumed Tuesday with eight video games to kick off Matchday 2.
Here are the 5 largest takeaways:
Bellingham’s greatest aim but
With seven targets in his first eight video games for Real Madrid heading into Tuesday’s hotly anticipated, marquee encounter away to Serie A champs Napoli, Jude Bellingham was already off to a record-breaking begin together with his new membership.
The 20-year-old Englishman continued his scorching streak in Italy, scoring in his eighth aim in his most spectacular style but — a slaloming run previous a number of defenders earlier than a cut-back and end previous keeper Alex Meret together with his proper foot.
Bellingham’s newest strike put the 14-time European champs up 2-1; Napoli’s Leo Skiri Østigård gave the hosts an early lead earlier than Vinicius Junior canceled it out. A 3rd would’ve sealed the win for Real. Instead, the Neapolitans had been awarded a Charmin-soft penalty following a VAR verify. Piotr Zieliński transformed it, denying Bellingham what would’ve been a worthy recreation winner.
But a late Meret personal aim — following a blistering shot by Federico Valverde that ricocheted off the crossbar, hit the keeper and went in — meant Real was nonetheless capable of take all three factors again to the Spanish capital from a match that greater than lived as much as the billing.
Arsenal’s defeat overshadowed by Saka damage
Things began off nice for Arsenal away to French facet Lens. After a confidence-building Match Day 1 rout of PSV Eindhoven, the Gunners took an early lead at Stade Bollaert-Delelis through Gabriel Jesus. But all of it unraveled from there.
First the hosts equalized although an outstanding, curling aim by Adrien Thomasson. Then Arsenal’s star attacker Bukayo Saka went down with a non-contact damage that pressured him from the match after simply 34 minutes.
Elye Wahi ultimately broke the impasse for the hosts with about 20 minutes remaining in the second half, and it ended 2-1. Blowing a lead and leaving with nothing was unhealthy sufficient, however the prospect of lacking Saka for any size of time is even worse. After the match, Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta steered that the damage is severe. If that proves true, the Gunners misplaced twice on Tuesday.
Reeling Manchester United shocked at residence once more
It had been 20 matches since Galatasaray a lot as scored an away aim in the Champions League. On Tuesday towards Man United at Old Trafford, the Turkish energy managed three in a 3-2 triumph that left the Red Devils with zero factors by way of their first two group stage video games.
Even worse, the guests’ closing two tallies got here in the final 20 minutes of the rain-soaked affair. “Not acceptable,” was the moment, field-side response of United legend Peter Schmeichel, who was overlaying the match for the official broadcaster. “It’s just not good enough, the mistakes that are being made.”
After shedding to Bayern Munich in Germany two weeks in the past, Erik ten Hag’s group rebounded with a pair of wins in the Premier League and EPL Cup, respectively. But Tuesday’s defeat got here on the heels of one other gorgeous residence loss, on Saturday in the Prem towards Crystal Palace. It was no fluke, both: earlier than he scored the winner, Mauro Icardi missed a penalty kick for Galatasaray.
The excellent news for Red Devils supporters is that two of the membership’s subsequent three video games are at residence, together with one in the Champions League on Oct. 24 towards FC Copenhagen. Lose that one and it’ll certainly be curtains for Ten Hag — assuming the coach continues to be on the sideline three weeks from now.
Bayern will get all it may well deal with in Copenhagen
As perennial trophy contenders, Bayern had been anticipated to go to Denmark’s capital midweek and return residence with all three factors. That’s what occurred in the top, however boy did the hosts make the German titans work for his or her win.
Scoreless at halftime, Lukas Lerager put FC Copenhagen forward 10 minutes after the break. Bayern’s followers had been sweating at that time. Normal order was restored earlier than it was over, although, with targets by Jamal Musiala and Mathys Tel throughout the closing half hour maintaining Tomas Tuchel’s facet good two video games into the brand new Champions League marketing campaign:
Union Berlin loses on the loss of life once more
Union thought it had earned a degree at Real Madrid two weeks again in the primary Champions League match in membership historical past, just for Bellingham to attain a stoppage time winner. A degree from that match would’ve felt like three.
Back in Berlin on Tuesday, Union wanted an precise victory towards Portugal’s Braga. Which is why, with the scored tied 2-2 late, the hosts — taking part in at 74,000 Olympic Stadium as a result of it seats greater than thrice as many followers as their very own Stadion An der Alten Försterei — had been throwing gamers ahead and into the assault in search of a 3rd aim. They virtually obtained it, however second half substitute Brenden Aaronson despatched his header extensive of the goal on his group’s greatest alternative.
Braga silenced the large crowd when André Castro stroked residence the decider following a counterattack With simply seconds left in stoppage time. For the hosts, this loss was a far greater intestine punch — particularly as a result of they squandered the 2 aim lead Sheraldo Becker’s brace gave them in the primary half. Union might be seeking to keep away from one other late heartbreaker when it hosts Napoli in its subsequent Champions League match.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer author for FOX Sports. Before becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021, he was a workers author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has lined United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at a number of FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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