Manchester United coming from behind, defeats Atalanta 3-2 with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning goal
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Francisco Flores – @franciscobcp
ManUnited 3 Atalanta 2
United pull off a brilliant second-half comeback to beat Atalanta 3-2. The visitors led 2-0 at half-time, with Pasalic and Demiral both taking advantage of poor defending to get the goals. Rashford hit the bar before the break before pulling the first goal back in the second half. McTominay hit the post before De Gea made an incredible double save to keep his side in it. Minutes later, Maguire equalised from a corner and it was Ronaldo who sealed the points for them again as he scored a header in the 81st minute.
United to the top of Group F with six points, with Atalanta dropping to second and these sides meet again in two weeks’ time in Italy. Before that, United have another big game against rivals Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League, while Atalanta face Udinese in Serie A.
Atalanta Goals – Pasalic 15’, Demiral 29’
Man United – Rashford 53’, Maguire 75’, Ronaldo 81’
Barcelona 1 Dynamo Kyiv
Barcelona secure their first win of their Champions League campaign, defeating Dynamo Kiev 1-0 at Camp Nou. Gerard Pique scored the only goal of the game in the first half as he powered a volley past Georgi Bushchan from close range after latching on to Jordi Alba’s cross. Neither team threatened the goal in the second half, allowing Barca to close out a vital victory to ease the pressure on Ronald Koeman.
Goals – Pique 36’
Benfica 0 Bayern Munich 4
Bayern Munich have cruised to their third win on the bounce in their Champions League campaign, hammering Benfica 4-0 at the Estadio da Luz. It took 70 minutes for Bayern to break the deadlock after seeing two goals disallowed by VAR. However, once Leroy Sane fired in a brilliant strike from a free-kick, the German side were dominant. An own goal from Everton extended their lead before Robert Lewandowski converted a cutback from Sane to notch a third. Sane then finished his night on a high note by steering home his second of the game. Benfica had their moments, but two fine saves from Manuel Neuer and a miss from Roman Yaremchuk cost the Portuguese side on home soil.
BM- Sane (0-1) 70’, Everton (OG) (0-2) 80’, Lewandowski (0-3) 82’, Sane (0-4) 84’
Young Boys 1 Villareal 4
What a shame that game had to come to an end! A thoroughly entertaining match that ebbed and flowed for the full 90 minutes! Villarreal’s quality shone through in the end and were deserved winners, but the scoreline doesn’t reflect the closeness of a game that Young Boys were never out of for a second. Their valiant performance will have really encourged their home fans that despite this defeat, they’re still well within a chance of reaching the knockout stages.
Goals
YB- Elia (1-2) 77’
VIL- Pino (0-1) 6’, Moreno (0-2) 16’, Moreno (1-3)88’, Chukwueze
Salzburg 3 Wolfsburg 1
The RB Salzburg run continues in this season’s Champions League! It was the Noah Okafor show in the second half as his two goals proved to be the difference for the home side in putting away a Wolfsburg side who hung on as best they could, but faded badly as the second half progressed. For Matthias Jassle though, that second-half performance was proof that, regardless of what’s put in front of them, his young side have the quality and temperament to go far in this season’s competition.
Goals
Salzburg: Adeyemi (1-0) 3’, OKafor (2-1) 65’, Okafor (3-1) 77’
Wolfsburg: Nmecha (1-1) 15’
Lille 0 Sevilla 0
And so it finishes goalless here. After a first-half that suggested we were set for an exciting second half, it ended up being a bit of a disappointment as neither side really took control of the game. It was the visitors who went the closest through efforts by Mir and Suso, but they couldn’t quite get the ball in the net. The hosts did rally late but couldn’t get anything clear cut at goal and the game finishes 0-0.
Chelsea 4 Malmo 0
Chelsea have won handsomely against Malmo with plenty left to spare in the tank. The Blues put in a classy display to dispatch their Swedish visitors, looking sharp up front and solid at the back with goals from Christensen, Havertz and Jorginho twice from the spot.
Zenit 0 Juventus 1
Dejan Kulusevski comes off the bench to break hearts in Russia for the locals – and to bless the Bianconeri with another Champions League win! They move further clear at the summit in Group H, with nine from nine taken – and their hosts now face a tough road to the knockout rounds. Full-time, it finishes Zenit 0-1 Juventus.
Goals
Juve: Kulusevski 86’
Club Brugge 1 Man City 5
Well, how’s that for a statement victory for Pep Guardiola’s City side? They were dominant, and well on top, from start to finish, and those five goals put the polish on a victory that sends City to the top of Group A and ahead of the PSG side that beat them 2-0 in Paris. Brugge fought well but were thoroughly second-best for the vast majority of that game, in a performance that shows that City are very much still one of the teams to beat in this year’s Champions League.
Goals
CB- Hans Vankaen 81’ (1-4)
MCI – Cencelo (0-1) 30’, Mahrez (0-2) 43’, Walker (0-3) 53’, Palmer (0-4) 67’, Mahrez (1-5) 84’
PSG 3 RB Leipzig 2
Well, how’s that for a statement victory for Pep Guardiola’s City side? They were dominant, and well on top, from start to finish, and those five goals put the polish on a victory that sends City to the top of Group A and ahead of the PSG side that beat them 2-0 in Paris. Brugge fought well but were thoroughly second-best for the vast majority of that game, in a performance that shows that City are very much still one of the teams to beat in this year’s Champions League.
Goals
PSG – Mbappe 9’ (1-0), Messi (2-2) 67’, Messi (3-2) 74’
RBL – Andre Silva (1-1) 28’, Muliele (2-1) 57’,
Atletico Madrid 2 Liverpool 3
Liverpool maintain their 100% record in Group B after defeating Atletico Madrid 3-2 in their Champions League clash at the Wanda Metropolitano. It was an eventful contest to say the least as the visitors stormed into a 2-0 lead through Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita. However, the hosts answered through a brace from Antoine Griezmann to level the scores at the break. The game took a turn when Griezmann was dismissed for a high boot on Roberto Firmino. Liverpool regained the lead after Diogo Jota was pulled down by Mario Hermoso in the box, allowing Salah to convert from the penalty spot. Minutes later the referee then awarded Atletico a spot-kick after Jota appeared to push Jose Gimenez, only for the official to overturn his decision after consulting the screen at the side of the pitch. Jurgen Klopp’s men then held their composure to see out the victory on the road.
Goals
LFC: Salah (0-1) 8’, Keita (0-2) 13’, Salah (2-3) 78’
ATM: 20’ Griezmann (1-2), 34’ Griezmann (2-2)
FC Porto 1 Milan 0
Diaz earns Porto their first Champions League win of the season as they beat Milan 1-0. The hosts had a couple of good chances through Taremi in the first half, but he fired them both narrowly wide. After the break, Porto kept the pressure on and Diaz eventually drilled his low effort into the bottom corner. Milan thought Bennacer was fouled in the build-up, but the goal stood. The visitors just couldn’t get into the game and barely troubled Costa.
Goal
Luis Diaz (1-0) 65’
Bekiktas 1 Sporting CP 4
Sporting secure an impressive —and much-needed — 4-1 victory. The visitors asserted their dominance in a breathless first half. Sporting took the lead through Coates’ header from a corner, but Besiktas struck back when Larin headed in a corner of their own. But Besiktas’ frailty in the air was exposed again when Coates scored an identical goal to make it 2-1. Sporting then made it three when Coates headed it against Vida’s arm to win a penalty. Sarabia stepped up to knock the spot-kick in to make it 3-1 but there was still time for more drama. Teixeira scored a stunning volley on the stroke of half-time, only for VAR to rule it out and ensure that Sporting retain their two-goal advantage at the break. The second half was a more sedate affair as Sporting sat on their lead, but there was still an opportunity for a fourth goal, when Paulinho curled in a brilliant strike from range.
Goals
Beskitas – 24’ Cyle Larin (1-1)
Sporting CP – Coates (0-1) 15’, Coates (1-2) 27’, Sarabia (1-3) 44’, Paulinho (104) 89’
Ajax 4 Borussia Dortmund 0
Rather than a Dortmund fightback, the second half of today’s match drifted further away from the Bundesliga club, as Ajax maintained their relentless tempo and controlled the game throughout. In fact, the home side could justifiably claim that a four-goal win barely represents their supremacy, given the volume of work Kobel was required to get through in the visitors’ goal. The first bout of a double-header between these clubs certainly goes to Ajax, by way of knockout!
Goals
Ajax – Reus (1-0), Blind (2-0), Antony 57’ (3-0), Haller (4-0) 72’
Predictions
LFC at ManUnited, Sunday 11:30am ET Oct. 24
FF: LFC 1 MUN 2
Madrid at Barcelona – 10:15am
FF: RMA 3 BAR 0
Inter v Juve
FF: Inter, Dzeko 2-1
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
