Champions League – 12/9

It was the return of the Champions League last night, and it was a winning start for both Manchester United and Chelsea, whilst Scottish champions Celtic suffered their heaviest home European defeat at the hands of PSG.

 

GROUP A

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United continued their strong start to the season with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford against Swiss side, Basel. A first half goal from Marouaine Fellaini gave the Red Devils the lead, before second half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford sealed the win.

Also in the Premier League leaders group are Benfica and CSKA Moscow, where the Russian side came from behind to win 2-1 in Portugal.

 

GROUP B

PSG romped home to an impressive 5-0 win at Celtic Park, with goals from summer signings, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Neymar opened the scoring inside 20 minutes, before Mbappe added a second before the break. Edinson Cavani netted twice in the second half, ether side of a Mikael Lustig own goal, to condemn Brendan Rodgers’ side to their heaviest European home defeat.

Elsewhere in Group B, five time champions Bayern Munich won 3-0 against Anderlecht at the Allianz Arena, with goals from Robert Lewandowski, Thiago and Joshua Kimmich.

 

GROUP C

Roma and Atletico Madrid played out a goalless draw at the Stadio Olimpico, but it was Chelsea making the headlines in the group with a 6-0 win on their return to the competition at home against debutants, FK Qarabag.

Pedro opened the scoring inside five minutes, before full back Davide Zappacosta ran the length of the field before smashing home his first Blues goal. Cesar Azpilicueta added a third before the break as Antonio Conte’s men headed in at half time in control. Youngster, Tiemore Bakayoko, added a fourth after the restart, before a Michy Batshuayi brace completed the rout against the Azerbaijan champions.

 

GROUP D

Last seasons beaten finalists, Juventus, suffered yet again at the hands of Spanish opposition as they were comprehensively beaten at the Nou Camp against Barcelona. The 2015 winners headed into the break one up, thanks to the ever present Lionel Messi, before midfielder, Ivan Rakitic, and Messi added further goals to ensure defeat on The Old Lady.

Elsewhere in the group, Sporting Lisbon won 3-2 at Greek side, Olympiakos. The Portuguese side led 3-0 at the break, but a late brace from Pardo at least made the scoreline more respectable for Besnik Hasi’s side.