In the Dortmund group, Newcastle United inflicted a heavy defeat on favorites Paris St. Germain. FC Barcelona’s victory, however, was overshadowed by an injury to Robert Lewandowski. An overview of the games from Wednesday evening (October 4th, 2023).
Group E
Feyenoord had won six competitive games in a row with a goal difference of 26:4, including the 2-0 on the first matchday in the premier class against Celtic Glasgow (2-0) – and the Dutch champions also got off to a furious start in Madrid: Mario Hermoso brought Feyenoord with him an own goal in the lead (7th). A little later Álvaro Morata was able to equalize again, but Rotterdam remained the better team and took the lead again through David Hancko (34th).
Seconds before the final whistle, Antoine Griezmann equalized again. The French attacker scored from five meters with an overhead kick to make it 2-2 (45th + 4). Immediately after the break, his striker colleague Morata put in a cross into the far corner for Atlético’s celebrated lead (47′). As a result, Feyenoord pushed for a 3-3 score, but the Dutch were still defeated.
Things also got dramatic in stoppage time in the second game of the group. Pedro Rodriguez scored the winning goal in Glasgow shortly before the final whistle for Lazio, who had drawn against Átletico in the opening game (90+5). Kyogo Furuhashi had given the hosts an early lead (12′), but Matias Vecino initiated the turnaround in favor of the Italians a little later (29′). Rome and Madrid lead the table with four points each.
Group F
In the so-called “group of death”, in addition to the 0-0 draw between Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, there was a duel between Newcastle United and Paris St. Germain – and that ended badly for superstar Kylian Mbappé and his PSG colleagues. After the goals from Miguel Almiron (17th) and Dan Burn (39th), everything quickly pointed to a victory for the English, and in the second half Sean Longstaff (50th) and Fabian Schär (90th + 1) even ensured that a Paris debacle. Lucas Hernandez scored the visitors’ consolation goal.
Group G
There was a division of points in the second game of the group around RB Leipzig, which Manchester City lost (1:3). The outsiders Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys Bern drew 2:2 (1:0). Cherif Ndiaye (34th) and Osman Bukari (88th) scored for the hosts, Filip Ugrinic (48th) and Cedric Itten (61st) from the penalty spot ensured the points were shared. For both teams it was the first point in this year’s competition after their opening defeats.
Group H
Six points, no goals conceded – FC Barcelona got off to a perfect start in the group phase of the Champions League. After the 5-0 win against Royal Antwerp, the Catalans managed a narrow victory at FC Porto. Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the evening in stoppage time in the first half, and in extra time in the second half Gavi was sent off (90th + 3), but that didn’t change the outcome of the game.
However, Barca have to worry about Robert Lewandowski. The former FC Bayern star had to leave the pitch injured after just 34 minutes after being hit hard – but the referee didn’t whistle for a foul. Torres came on as a substitute for the Pole. Club gem Lamine Yamal became the youngest starting XI player in Champions League history at 16 years and 83 days, but didn’t show any brilliant feats.
Things got hot in the duel between the clearly beaten teams on the first match day. In the first half, Antwerp controlled the game at will and deservedly took a 2-0 lead thanks to Arbnor Muja (3′) and Michel-Ange Balikwisha (34′). After the break, however, the game turned completely around and Mark van Bommel’s team was no longer able to match their performance from the first 45 minutes. And so after the 5-0 defeat at FC Barcelona there was a bitter 2-3 defeat against Donetsk. Danylo Sikan (48th/76th) and Yaroslav Rakitsyi (71st) turned things around.
