The UEFA Champions League is back, with back to back rounds and we are all for it! Some interesting matches in the first round and even though it’s still early days, we can already see a few teams who could potentially go all the way.
Group A
| 07/09/22 | Napoli | 4 | Liverpool | 1 |
| 07/09/22 | Ajax | 4 | Rangers | 0 |
What a start to group A! The evening started with Ajax beating Rangers 4-0, the second time Rangers lost by the same margin, after Celtic beat them in the weekend. Steven Bergwijn scored another goal to add to his impressive start of the season, before leaving the pitch injured.
The biggest shock of the whole round most definitely came from Naples though, as Napoli absolutely demolished Liverpool at the Diego Maradona. Polish midfielder Zielinski banged a double, but all eyes were on Kvara, who impressed with his technique. Spalletti’s side are emerging as an early surprise package in the competition.
Group B
| 07/09/22 | Atlético Madrid | 2 | FC Porto | 1 |
| 07/09/22 | Club Brugge | 1 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 0 |
Griezmann to the rescue, once more and what a match at the Wanda! Porto’s Iranian attacker, Taremi got a red card in the 81st minute. Hermoso made it 1-0 to Atletico in the 91st, just for Uribe to equalise with a penalty in the 95th. Griezmann banged the winner in the 101st after a Witsel assist.
In the other match of the group, Leverkusen’s disastrous start of the season seems to continue, as they lost in Belgium against Club Brugge.
Group C
| 07/09/22 | Barcelona | 5 | Viktoria Plzeň | 1 |
| 07/09/22 | Inter | 0 | Bayern München | 2 |
Barcelona emerged as early favorites of the group, as they’ve beaten Viktoria Plzen, 5-1 at the Camp Nou. It was all about Lewandowski, as he scored another hat-trick, putting his goal tally at 6, from the last 3 matches.
Inter faced a dominant Bayern at the San Siro and were outcalled by the Bavarians. Sane opened the scoring and a D’Ambrosio own goal sealed the deal, but Bayern had not less than 11 shots on target, compared to Inter’s 2.
Group D
| 07/09/22 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | Olympique de Marseille | 0 |
| 07/09/22 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 0 | Sporting CP | 3 |
One of the most interesting groups of the draw, did not disappoint. Eintracht found it hard to withstand Sporting’s attacks, as young English forward, Edwards provided a Man of the Match performance, with new recruit Trincao on the scoresheet as well.
Spurs faced an in-form Marseille in London and ultimately managed to beat the French in a tense match. RIcharlison, who played as a Right Winger scored in the 76th and the 81st minute to seal the deal.
Group E
| 06/09/22 | GNK Dinamo Zagreb | 1 | Chelsea | 0 |
| 06/09/22 | Red Bull Salzburg | 1 | Milan | 1 |
Group E provided the first surprise of the competition and also the first big manager casualty, as Chelsea parted ways with Tuchel, after their 1-0 loss versus Dinamo Zagreb.
In the other match of the evening, RB Salzburb drew 1-1 against Italian champions, AC Milan.
Group F
| 06/09/22 | Celtic | 0 | Real Madrid | 3 |
| 06/09/22 | RB Leipzig | 1 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 |
Despite a good start from Celtic, Real Madrid managed to score when they needed the most and eventually walked away with a 3-0 at Celtic Park. Some bad news for them though, as Benzema walked off injured and he will be out for at least 3 weeks.
Shaktar produced was one of the shocking results of the evening, as they obliterated RB Leipzig in Germany. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Red Bull decided to part way with manager, Tedesco.
Group G
| 06/09/22 | Sevilla | 0 | Manchester City | 4 |
| 06/09/22 | Borussia Dortmund | 3 | FC København | 0 |
Group G offered virtually no surprises, as City dominated Sevilla, with Haaland scoring another brace, while Dortmund destroyed FC Kobenhavn, 4-0 in Germany. Will Julen Lopetegui be the next big name manager to get the sack?
Group H
| 06/09/22 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2 | Juventus | 1 |
| 06/09/22 | SL Benfica | 2 | Maccabi Haifa | 0 |
Many people expected PSG to obliterate Juventus, but the Old Lady put up a fight at the Parc des Princess. Mbappe opened the scoring, after a great pass from Neymar, then added another one, but McKennie did score in the second half to bring Juve back into the game. All in all, it was quite an even match, with PSG being the deserved winners.
In the other match, Benfica defeated Maccabi 2-0, in their first UCL game after Darwin Nunez left.
Check out Generation:Football’s full Uefa Champions League coverage page.