SKY SPORT
Manchester City come from behind to open their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over FC Porto.
Ferran Torres came off the bench to score an impressive individual goal and complete Manchester City’s comeback in a 3-1 win over Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday (Thursday NZT).
The 20-year-old Spain international exchanged passes with fellow substitute Phil Foden before drifting inside and into the area, dropping his shoulder and curling a shot high into the net in the 73rd minute for City’s third goal.
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Before that, Pep Guardiola’s team had relied on dead-ball situations to overcome its lack of fluency going forward and recover from going behind to Luis Diaz’s 14th-minute opener for Porto, which returned to the Champions League after a one-year absence.
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Manchester City substitute Ferran Torres curls in his side’s third goal in their 3-1 win over FC Porto at Etihad Stadium.
Sergio Aguero converted a penalty six minutes later, after Raheem Sterling was bundled over by Pepe, to equalise with his first goal since March.
City right-back Kyle Walker produced an acrobatic goal-line clearance to stop Porto going back in front just before halftime, and Ilkay Gundogan put the hosts ahead in the 65th minute by curling a free kick over the defensive wall and into the net from 25 metres.
Martin Rickett/AP
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, second right, bends a free-kick over the wall to put the hosts ahead against Porto.
City – beginning their latest bid to become European champions for the first time in the club’s history – found Porto hard to break down and clearly missed the creativity of injured midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, while Aguero lasted 67 minutes as he continues to build up match fitness after four months out.
The goal his team conceded would have been disappointing to Guardiola, too, with Portugal centre-back Ruben Dias giving the ball away in midfield before Diaz drifted across the area with the ball – beating Rodri then Joao Cancelo – before shooting into the bottom corner.
Peter Dejong/AP
Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico tries to stop Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold during their Champions League Group D clash.
Own goal gives Liverpool narrow win
Liverpool’s makeshift defence held firm and a fortunate goal earned Jurgen Klopp’s team a 1-0 victory over Ajax at the empty Johan Cruyff Area.
Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico turned a mishit shot by Sadio Mane into his own net in the 35th minute for the only goal of the match.
At the other end, a combination of poor finishing, bad luck and an acrobatic goal-line clearance by stand-in central defender Fabinho denied Ajax a goal.
Liverpool were playing without captain and central defender Virgil van Dijk after the Dutchman suffered a serious knee injury in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Everton. Also missing were goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara.
Peter Dejong/AP
Liverpool’s players celebrate Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico’s own goal that gifted them a 1-0 victory in Amsterdam.
Klopp paired midfielder Fabinho with Joe Gomez in central defence while 19-year-old Curtis Jones got his first Champions League start in the midfield.
The hosts should have taken the lead in the 33rd minute when David Neres passed to Quincy Promes, but the Netherlands winger shot too close to Adrian and the goalkeeper stuck out his right foot to save.
Just over a minute later, Liverpool were in front when Mane turned away from Perr Schuurs before scuffing his shot that led to Tagliafico’s own-goal.
Fabinho preserved his team’s lead at halftime when he hooked the ball off his goal line after Dusan Tadic had lobbed Adrian in the 44th minute.
Liverpool escaped again a minute after the break when Davy Klaassen’s powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area beat Adrian but hit the post.
In Group D’s other match, Atalanta won 4-0 at Midtylland.
Manu Fernandez/AP
Shakhtar forward Tete, centre, takes the plaudits from team-mates after scoring his side’s opener against Real Madrid.
Covid-hit Donetsk stun Real
A Shakhtar Donetsk team depleted by coronavirus cases handed Real Madrid a 3-2 home loss in Group B on Wednesday (Thursday NZT).
Playing with only a few regular starters, Shakhtar took advantage of counterattacks to open up a 3-0 first-half lead, and then held on after Madrid pulled closer with two goals shortly after the break in an empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
Madrid thought they had equalized in injury time through Federico Valverde, but the goal was disallowed for offside after video review.
The Ukrainian side opened the scoring through Tete in the 29th minute and added to the lead with an own-goal by Madrid defender Raphael Varane in the 33rd minute. Manor Solomon then added the third three minutes before halftime.
Madrid fought back with a long-range shot by Luka Modric in the 54th minute and a goal by Vinicius Junior five minutes later, seconds after he came on as a substitute.
Manu Fernandez/AP
Croatian midfielder Luka Modric started Real Madrid’s second-half fightback with a well-taken goal from outside the box.
Shakhtar arrived in Spain without several key players who were not fully fit after going into isolation because of positive Covid-19 tests. Seven regular starters and a couple of first-choice substitutes were absent, and coach Luis Castro had to call up seven players from the “B” team.
Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was without some players because of injury, including captain Sergio Ramos and right back Dani Carvajal, and he made several changes to the starting lineup ahead of the Spanish league “clasico” against Barcelona on Saturday (Sunday NZT). Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema were among those who started on the bench.
“We didn’t get off to a good start. I think we lacked confidence,” Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said.
“We improved in the second half but it wasn’t enough. We have to move on, the next match is coming up soon and we can’t lose time lamenting.”
Manu Fernandez/AP
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior pulled a second goal back for the hosts but Shakhtar held out for a famous victory.
It was the second consecutive home loss for Madrid, who on Saturday (Sunday NZT) were beaten 1-0 by promoted Cadiz in the Spanish league.
The hosts were ineffective from the start on Wednesday (Thursday NZT), unable to get near the Shakhtar goal. The visitors, meanwhile, threatened often and squandered several other scoring chances. Marlos had a goal disallowed for offside in the 80th minute.
The game was played at the 6000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano at Madrid’s training centre because the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium remains under renovation while fans are not allowed into matches because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thirteen-time Champions League winners, Madrid were eliminated in the round of 16 in the last two seasons.
Matthias Schrader/AP
Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman scores the first of his two goals as the reigning champions hammered Atletico Madrid.
Bayern kick off title defence in style
Kingsley Coman netted twice as Bayern took their winning streak to 12 straight games in Europe’s premier competition, with Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso also scoring.
The buildup was overshadowed by Serge Gnabry testing positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after he had taken part in the team’s final training session for the game. Local health authorities gave the go-ahead for the match to proceed as planned after Gnabry’s teammates tested negative in further tests conducted early Wednesday (Thursday NZT).
No fans were allowed as per restrictions previously announced due to rising infections in the Bavarian capital.
Atletico striker Luis Suarez had the first big chance but was unable to reach Renan Lodi’s low cross.
Matthias Schrader/AP
Bayern Munich’s David Alaba, right, and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix battle for the ball during the German side’s 4-0 win.
The home side gradually settled and Niklas Sule struck the post in the 15th minute, before Bayern broke the deadlock in the 28th minute thanks to good work from Joshua Kimmich in his first game since becoming a father for the second time. The Bayern No 6 slid in to win the ball back from an attempted clearance and crossed diagonally for Coman to convert at the far post.
Coman laid the ball back for Goretzka to score Bayern’s second in the 41st minute.
Atletico emerged strongly after the break but Joao Felix’s goal was ruled out as Suarez was offside and blocking Manuel Neuer’s view on an otherwise quiet night for the Bayern goalkeeper.
The home side resumed control relatively quickly. Thomas Muller almost set up Robert Lewandowski, before Tolisso hammered the ball into the top right corner from around 25 metres in the 66th minute.
Coman capped his performance with a fine individual effort on a counterattack in the 72nd minute, turning Brazilian defender Felipe first one way, then the other, before dinking the ball over goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Andreas Schaad/AP
Salzburg’s Zlatko Junuzovic celebrates after putting his side in front against Lokomotiv Moscow in their Group A clash.
Moscow hold Salzburg
Lokomotiv Moscow held Salzburg to a 2-2 draw in their Champions League opener, which dented both teams’ hopes of advancing from the group.
With European champions Bayern Munich and Spain’s Atletico Madrid also in Group A, this was Salzburg and Lokomotiv’s best chance to earn three points for an outside shot at the top two places.
Austrian champions Salzburg and their US coach Jesse Marsch were on course for that until Lokomotiv substitute Vitali Lisakovich headed in at the far post to level the game on his Champions League debut.
Andreas Schaad/AP
The Champions League game was played in front of around 3000 mask-wearing fans in the Austrian city of Salzburg.
Lokomotiv had taken the lead with Eder’s headed goal at a corner in the 19th minute but Salzburg gradually took control of the game and levelled with the last act of the first half. Dominik Szoboszlai found space on the edge of the box at a corner and hit a dipping shot which dropped behind goalkeeper Guilherme’s outstretched hand and in off the underside of the bar.
Salzburg needed some luck for their second goal as a deflection sent Zlatko Junuzovic’s low shot past Guilherme in the 50th minute. Salzburg could have made it three soon after, but Sekou Koita’s shot his the post.
The game was played in front of around 3000 fans in Salzburg. They were limited to certain sectors of the stands with one empty seat between each spectator, rather than being seated all round the stadium.
AT A GLANCE
Champions League results
Group A
Salzburg 2-2 Lokomotiv Moscow
Bayern Munich 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Group B
Real Madrid 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter Milan 2-2 Broussia Moenchengladbach
Group C
Manchester City 3-1 FC Porto
Olympiakos 1-0 Marseille
Group D
Ajax -0-1 Liverpool
FC Midtjylland 0-4 Atalanta
AP
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