Key Stats, Shock Announcement: Roundup After Champions League Matchday 1
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
PSG, Bayern, Barca off to Flying Starts in UCL MD1
Matchday 1 in this season’s Champions League was an absolute thriller, with 67 goals scored across the 18 matches in Europe’s top-tier cup competition.
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain were the biggest winners of the opening round in the League Phase, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 on Wednesday night. Bayern Munich and Barcelona netted five times apiece, while Manchester United returned to the competition with a 4-0 victory over newcomers Sabah.
Mbappe brothers make headlines on Champions League Matchday 1!
Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan, a match in which Kylian Mbappe joined Raul on 71 Champions League goals, moving to fifth among the competition’s all-time top scorers behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema.
His brother, Ethan, on the other hand, was in the headlines for the wrong reasons, as he was shown the first red card of his career during Lille’s defeat to Real Betis, and it came in just his third Champions League appearance.
Bayern Munich write their names in the Champions League history books!
After a stunning 5-0 victory over Bodo/Glimt at the Allianz on Thursday, Bayern Munich became just the second team in UCL history to surpass 900 goals in the competition. Only Real Madrid have scored more (1,139), while Barcelona (767) and Man United (549) sit in third and fourth.
Harry Kane and Michael Olise starred for the Bavarians in their victory. Kane has now scored in eight consecutive UCL matches, one shy of the club record held by Lewandowski (9). CR7 holds the competition record, scoring in 11 consecutive matches between 2017 and 2018.
Yamal Overtakes Messi As Barca Continue Flying Start to the Season!
After their 5-1 victory over Feyenoord, which confirmed our Champions League predictions, Lamine Yamal became the youngest player in Barcelona’s history to reach 100 goal contributions, doing so at 19 years and 58 days, while Lionel Messi reached that landmark at 22.
The Spaniard now has 12 goals in the Champions League, just one less than Mbappe’s record of 13 as the highest-scoring teenager in the tournament’s history. He has already surpassed the French skipper for goal contributions, now on 23 to Mbappe’s 20.
Big Shocks From Como and Fenerbahce After MD1 Results
The fairytale story of MD1 in this season’s Champions League came from the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, where Cesc Fabregas’ Como enjoyed a dream start to their maiden UCL campaign, beating RB Leipzig 4-1 on Thursday night.
Four different players scored as the Lariani struck twice in each half to secure all three points on a truly memorable night. Como are now just the fourth Italian club to win their opening UCL match on debut, alongside AC Milan, Juventus and Udinese.
Chaos in press conference after Fenerbahce and Roma stalemate!
Chaos engulfed Fenerbahce on Thursday night after their Champions League meeting with Roma. The Turkish giants were held to a 1-1 draw before coach Ismail Kartal stunned the world by announcing his departure during the post-match press conference.
Kartal’s announcement came completely out of the blue. Only minutes earlier, he had been speaking about how proud he was of his players before suddenly revealing his decision to resign just 3 months after taking charge. He said:
"I have been here for three months now. Since the start of the season, we have trained together with the players and completed training camps. Our chairman and the board have tried to help us with everything. They were very beautiful days. Tonight I congratulate my players and resign. I want to thank our supporters, the media, my staff and my players for all the support I have received so far."
Following the shocking announcement, Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yildirim quickly responded, making clear that he has not accepted Kartal’s resignation, saying that the 65-year-old tactician will “remain the head coach until I leave.”
