Doug McIntyre
Football journalist
While Liverpool took care of enterprise at residence with a 4-0 win over Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, Tuesday will likely be greatest remembered as a day of surprises within the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid misplaced 3-1 at residence to AC Milan, Manchester City squandered an early lead and suffered a shock 4-1 defeat in opposition to Sporting Lisbon (and future Manchester United supervisor Rúben Amorim) whereas the Scottish membership Celtic has come from behind to steer the German workforce. Bundesliga replay of RB Leipzig 5-1 in Glasgow.
Here are three fast summaries of Tuesday’s matches at first of matchday 4.
Milan amazes Real Madrid on the Bernabéu
With 22 European titles in complete, Tuesday’s conflict within the Spanish capital was a gathering between the competitors’s two most profitable groups.
The hosts and present trophy holders are nonetheless clear favorites regardless of their struggles in La Liga, together with a 4-0 residence defeat in opposition to Barcelona final weekend. Meanwhile, Milan additionally had a season of ups and downs, each within the Champions League and in Serie A.
That wasn’t the case on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The Rossoneri have been the liveliest workforce from the beginning and the visitors took the lead after simply 12 minutes. US males’s nationwide workforce star Christin Pulisic helped arrange the opening objective with an ideal nook kick for Malick Thiaw to nod residence from shut vary:
Real equalized early on a penalty via Vini Jr. But Milan took the lead once more earlier than the top of the half. Pulisic was once more closely concerned. The American discovered Rafael Leão with a fast cross earlier than former Real Madrid striker Álvaro Morata cleared the rebound from Leão’s shot.
Tijjani Reijnders added an insurance coverage objective for Milan within the second half. The defeat dropped Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw on the season, leaving the 15-time trophy winners in seventeenth place among the many thirty sixth workforce within the league stage.
In Lisbon, Manchester City suffers a uncommon defeat
When Phil Foden put the English Premier League champions 1-0 up in Portugal simply over three minutes into Tuesday’s match, it appeared just like the Sky Blues would succeed. With 9 targets scored in three video games, Pep Guardiola’s workforce normally does this. Instead, issues went sideways for the guests briefly order after Viktor Gyökeres leveled issues with a surprising end later within the second half.
Maximiliano Araújo arrange Sporting instantly after the break, whereas Gyökeres made it 3-1 from the penalty spot moments later. And though City had loads of time to reply, they did not capitalize on it. Gyökeres accomplished his hat-trick from the penalty spot to seal a well-known victory for his membership with round 10 minutes left in regular time.
This defeat is Manchester City’s third in a row in all competitions – their first run of three consecutive defeats since 2018.
While the American midfielder has struggled to make his worldwide debut since making his debut two years in the past, Tillman’s profession season with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven continued on Tuesday with a Man of the Match efficiency in a 4-0 defeat of the Spaniards from Girona. .
The 22-year-old contributed to 3 of the hosts’ 4 tallies. After aiding the opener, Tillman scored an unbelievable solo objective after a 40-yard run out of midfield:
Tillman and Pulisic have been two of 9 Americans who appeared in Tuesday’s video games. Yunus Musah can be a starter for Milan. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty partnered in Celtic’s central defence. Ricardo Pepi was a late substitute for PSV, whereas Juventus duo Weston McKennie and Tim Weah additionally got here off the bench within the 1-1 draw in opposition to Weah’s former membership Lille.
Finally, 18-year-old Cole Campbell made his Champions League debut by taking part in the ultimate 13 minutes of Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win in opposition to Strum Graz of Austria.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. He was a employees author at ESPN and Yahoo Sports earlier than becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021 United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups on the FIFA World Cup on 5 continents. Follow him @By Doug McIntyre.
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