Borussia Dortmund scored an incredible 7 goals. © ANSA / FRIEDEMANN VOGEL

Shooting festivals and disappointments in the Champions League

The second matchday of the newly formed Champions League began on Tuesday. There were a few crystal clear victories.

01 October 2024

From: apa/dpa

Triple-packer Karim Adeyemi and Dortmund were in impressive goal-scoring form in their 7-1 win over Celtic. Heavyweights Arsenal, Inter and Manchester City also picked up their first wins at the start of the second round. The Gunners won 2-0 in the big match against Paris Saint-Germain, while City won 4-0 in Bratislava. Inter beat Red Star Belgrade at home by the same scoreline.

Things also went according to plan in Barcelona. Goalscorer Robert Lewandowski scored twice for the Catalans in the 5-0 win against Young Boys. German champions Leverkusen inflicted Milan's second defeat with a goal from Victor Boniface (51').

Dortmund's show and Arsenal's quality

Arsenal made a confident impression against PSG. The increasing pressure culminated in a 2-0 lead in the first half. PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was unlucky on both occasions. Kai Havertz headed a cross from Leandro Trossard past the goalkeeper who was flying in too late (20'). At the 2-0, Donnarumma let a free kick from Bukayo Saka go past friend and foe (35').

Arsenal's Kai Havertz scored a great goal against Donnarumma. © APA/afp / ADRIAN DENNIS

Dortmund, led by Adeyemi, were already in a frenzy by the break (5:1). The winger in the BVB jersey beat the Danish team keeper Kasper Schmeichel in the Celtic goal with a deflected shot (11th minute), a cracker from the half-left position (29th minute), a deadly shot from the edge of the penalty area (42nd minute) and won the penalty before Serhou Guirassy made it 4:1 (40th minute).

Leverkusen beats Milan

Bayer Leverkusen has disillusioned AC Milan and taken an important step towards the knockout rounds. Coach Xabi Alonso's team beat the seven-time winners of Europe's premier class 1-0 on the second matchday. Boniface (51st minute) scored the decisive goal to give Bayer their second win in the second group match.

Victor Boniface led Leverkusen to victory over Milan. © ANSA / CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

Only after the hosts had taken the deserved lead did Milan start to attack again and push Leverkusen more and more into the defence. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca brought in additional quality in the form of Spanish European Championship captain Álvaro Morata. The Milan squad also had significantly more experience: the visiting players had played a total of 457 Champions League matches before the match, while Leverkusen had only played 213.

Alonso reacted to Milan's increasing pressure and brought on Andrich as a stabilizer. This naturally opened up more space for the Rhinelanders, who are good at combination play. However, Frimpong wasted a great chance to make it 2-0 after a dream pass from Wirtz (76'). The hosts were lucky when a deflected shot from Hernández hit the crossbar in the 82nd minute and Milan's final offensive came to nothing.

Champions League, 2st matchday

Tuesday’s games:
Salzburg – Brest 0:4
0:1 Sima (24th), 0:2 Camara (66th), 0:3 Sima (70th), 0:4 Pereira (75th)

Stuttgart – Sparta Prague 1:1
1:0 Millot (7th), 1:1 Kairinen (32nd)

Arsenal – PSG 2:0
1:0 Havertz (20th), 2:0 Saka (35th)

FC Barcelona – Young Boys Bern 5-0
1:0 Lewandowski (8th), 2:0 Raphinha (34th), 3:0 Martinez (37th), 4:0 Lewandowski (51st), 5:0 own goal Camara (81st)

Leverkusen – Milan 1:0
1:0 Boniface (51.)

Dortmund – Celtic 7:1
1:0 Can (7th/penalty), 1:1 Maeda (9th), 2:1 Adeyemi (11th), 3:1 Adeyemi (29th), 4:1 Guirassy (40th/penalty), 5th :1 Adeyemi (42nd), 6:1 Guirassy (66th), 7:1 Nmecha (79th)

Inter – Red Star Belgrade 4:0
1:0 Calhanoglu (11th), 2:0 Arnautovic (59th), 3:0 Lautaro (71st), 4:0 Taremi (81st/penalty)

PSV Eindhoven – Sporting Lisbon 1-1
1:0 Scouten (15th), 1:1 Bracagna (84th)

Slovan Bratislava – Manchester City 0:4
0:1 Gündogan (8th), 0:2 Foden (15th), 0:3 Haaland (58th), 0:4 McAtee (74th)