FC Sheriff Tiraspol made headlines for being the first club from Moldova (Transnistria) to make the Champions League group stage. I don’t think anyone realized how much of a gold mine this team is until the club’s historic 2-0 home victory against Shakhtar Donetsk.
It was a tongue in cheek joke when Erling Haaland burst onto the Champions League scene during the 2019-20 season with 10 goals in eight games to extrapolate that scoring rate into the future. But when Haaland finished as the UCL’s top scorer in 2020-21 with those exact same numbers, the giggles turned to disbelief.
Well, Haaland’s third season in the Champions League began on Wednesday with Borussia Dortmund traveling to Istanbul to play Beşiktaş, and the 21-year-old scored what would eventually prove the match-winner just before halftime.
Ronald Koeman might be right that Barcelona could still cobble together a league challenge, but Barça hasn’t been this far from competing for Europe’s ultimate club prize since it played in the Europa League (the same season a 16-year-old Cesc Fàbregas left La Masia for Arsenal).
Exactly 13 months after Barcelona suffered ultimate humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich, the Blaugrana welcomed Die Roten to the Camp Nou to open Group E play in the Champions League. Based solely on scores, Barcelona improved by three goals, but it looked so much worse in doing so. At one point, Serge Gnabry took pity on his defender and kicked the ball out of bounds.
Romelu Lukaku’s 69th minute header proved to be the difference in Chelsea’s 1-0 Champions League opener against Zenit on Tuesday. The Chelsea vs. Zenit highlights saw the defending champs frustrated by a feisty Russian side for most of the game.
Zenit’s defense dug its heels into the ground and dared the Blues to try and get past. I’m willing to bet that if Chelsea had the same squad as last season, then this match would have ended in a draw. That’s not the case when a player like Lukaku roams in the opposition’s box.
With Villarreal and Atalanta lying in wait, Manchester United travelled to Swiss Super League champion Young Boys knowing that three points was vital against the side 30 places beneath them in UEFA’s club coefficient.
All eyes were on Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team after the manager again fielded the exciting quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba that’d decimated Newcastle on Saturday.
The Seville skies opened up to a torrent of rain just before halftime, sending players to the locker room to regroup after an historic first half. The Sevilla-RB Salzburg match set a record for most penalties in a Champions League match — in the first half alone.
Sevilla and RB Salzburg played to a bizarre 1-1 draw on Tuesday in Seville to open Champions League play. The final score will take a back seat to the flood of penalty kicks awarded in the first half, when the referee pointed to the spot four times in the opening 42 minutes.
Lionel Messi and Neymar have been included in Paris St Germain's Champions League squad for their trip to Club Brugge on Wednesday after the pair missed the weekend's Ligue 1 action following their return from international duty.
@LParedss Leo Messi @NeymarJr pic.twitter.com/coIbc5K1Cc
The UEFA Champions League group stage begins on Tuesday and many Americans will be googling “how to watch Champions League 2021.” There are three answers to that question: Paramount+, watch in Spanish or break the law and stream it illegally.
TV: None
Streaming: Paramount+
Ever since CBS acquired the broadcasting rights to the Champions League in 2020, the world’s largest annual tournament is almost entirely streamed for American fans.
For the first time, the UEFA Women’s Champions League will feature a 16-team group stage instead of jumping straight into a large knockout phase. And for the first time, the Real Madrid Women have qualified for the Women’s Champions League.