On Tuesday, Champions League play returned with a bang as there were 27 goals scored across only six matches with Bayern Munich leading the way with a record-breaking nine. From top to bottom, it was an eventful day which means it’s a good time to look back on some of the biggest moments of Matchday 1.
Let’s take a look:
5. Kenan Yildiz becomes Juventus’ youngest UCL goalscorer
Wearing the iconic number 10, Kenan Yildiz’s goal in the 21st minute paced Juventus in their victory over PSV, 3-1. Only 19, he surpassed the record set by another iconic Juventus number 10 Alessandro Del Piero who was the youngest goalscorer to accomplish the feat at 20. When he retired, Del Piero said “I never want them to retire the Juventus number 10 shirt so that the kids can always dream of wearing it one day.”
Now a new kid is wearing it and scoring in a new era for Juventus under Thiago Motta. The future is bright for the club and this Champions League result was an important step in the right direction.
4. Americans find the back of the net
Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic both scored while starting for their clubs but the matches had quite different results. McKennie’s Juventus marked their return to the Champions League after a suspension from European play with the strong 3-1 victory over PSV with the American finished from close range. It was a match that also set a Champions League record for the most Americans to feature with five.
Christian Pulisic may have opened the scoring for Milan in the third minute of play but it wasn’t a sign of good things to come as his team lost 3-1 to Liverpool. Allowing two goals from set pieces, all of the good that Milan did was wasted before halftime even hit. Pulisic has three goals in all competitions for Milan but the team only has one victory to show for it. New managers can take time to get their style across but in a match including Paulo Fonseca and Arne Slot, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that both are in their first seasons in charge of their respective clubs.
Our Francesco Porzio has more on Pulisic here.
3. Endrick becomes Real Madrid’s youngest UCL scorer
Real Madrid may not have been at their best but they still managed to emerge as 3-1 winners over Stuttgart. Antonio Rudiger put in the go-ahead goal against his boyhood club but young Endrick stole the show. In the second half, the Brazilian was able to beat Alexander Nubel in net with a strong finish from range. It’s already his second goal in five appearances for the club to go along with three for Brazil on the international stage.
Defense is still a concern for Los Blancos but when Kylian Mbappe, Rudiger, and Endrick can all find the net in the same match, it won’t matter much how many goals are conceded. With Jude Bellingham also returning to the XI, Real Madrid will only get stronger from here.
Our James Benge notes that the attackers must do more in defense if they are to repeat as champions.
2. Do we already have the goal of the tournament?
Sporting Club’x victory over Lille was a UCL edition of bangers only. Viktor Gyokeres opened the scoring in the first half of play with a lovely turn and finish in the box and from there, it was all Sporting. Lille went down to 10 men due to Angel Gomes picking up two yellows which only allowed Sporting to push up more.
Young defender Zeno Debast took advantage of that stepping into a shot in the second half of play to deliver an unstoppable rocket from outside the box. When he hit it, the shot was destined for the back of the net. Take a look:
It was the first-ever Sporting goal for the 20-year-old and it helped kick off their new Champions League challenge quite well.
1. Bayern Munich goals galore and ‘scorigami’ to boot
Led by Harry Kane’s four goals during which he scored the first-ever hat trick of penalties in a Champions League game, Kane also became the highest-scoring Englishman in the Champions League or European Cup history with his 33rd goal surpassing a record set by Wayne Rooney. In a match that included three different goal scorers for Bayern Munich, two scored multiple goals during the match.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Bayern as Zagreb had hope when Manuel Neuer exited with an injury scoring two goals in two minutes but Bayern wiped away all hope quickly. Six goals in the second half is something that shows the difference in the new single table of the Champions League league stage. Goal difference will be important as a tiebreaker so getting a plus-seven in your first match is quite the start.
