Eight matches.
Twenty-seven goals.
The UEFA Champions League teams that waited til Wednesday to debut their 2020-21 tournaments saved up their attacking style and deployed it at will.
[ MORE: How will Liverpool bounce back without VVD? ]
Liverpool and Manchester City won, Real Madrid was stunned, and Inter Milan avoided a home loss thanks to last-minute heroics from big Romelu Lukaku.
And that’s after Day 1 was pretty solid on Tuesday. Let’s go!
Group A
RB Salzburg 2-2 Lokomotiv Moscow
Jesse Marsch would’ve wanted all three points from this one given the other two clubs in Group A, but Zlatko Junuzovic’s goal and assist were enough to get a point for the Austrian hosts.
Eder had given the Russians an early lead but Salzburg answered before and after halftime, only to see Vitali Lisakovich deliver a late leveler.
Bayern Munich 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Kingsley Coman and Leon Goretzka put Bayern ahead at the break, and Corentin Tolisso scored an amazing goal after the break before Coman struck again to hand Atleti a rare blowout loss.
Atleti thought it had pulled one back via a Joao Felix volley just after halftime but Luis Suarez was deemed offside even though the ball appeared to take a slight turn off Goretzka.
¡Goooooooooool del Bayern! 🔥⚽
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) October 21, 2020
El que cerró la Champions pasada, abre esta. ¡Kingsley Coman pone el primero del partido! 💪@FCBayernES 1-0 @Atleti #UCL | #Bayern | #AtléticoDeMadrid
🔴 En vivo
📺 TUDN
📲 Síguelo aquí 👉 https://t.co/6U8kn5CSFe pic.twitter.com/gfGASLzquL
Group B
Real Madrid 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian visitors took the long hike west down 10 players due to positive COVID-19 tests, then promptly took a 3-0 lead over the tournament’s most-celebrated club.
Tete had a goal and an assist as Shakhtar went in front but Real battled back with goals from Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior. The hosts looked to have leveled the score in stoppage time, but Vinicius was offside and VAR took away Fede Valverde’s would-be equalizer.
Inter Milan 2-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Romelu Lukaku was in the catbird seat for a 48th-minute opener after good pressure from Inter in the visitors’ box, and snuck in close to find a last-minute equalizer in a back-and-forth battle with Borussia Monchengladbach in Italy.
But VAR caught an Arturo Vidal foul on Marcus Thuram in the box and Ramy Bensebaini left no doubt with his low drive from the spot.
Jonas Hoffman scored for the second time in two games after a marker in Bundesliga play this weekend, giving Gladbach a late lead at the San Siro.
Group C
Manchester City 3-1 FC Porto
A first-half error put the hosts down a goal, but Man City quickly rebounded and had it tied at halftime through a Sergio Aguero penalty.
Ilkay Gundogan then scored a terrific free kick before Phil Foden and Ferran Torres worked a 1-2 with the latter applying the finishing touch with a sliding finish into the upper reaches of the goal.
Unfortunately, City also lost a mainstay in Fernandinho; The 35-year-old Brazilian will miss weeks.
Olympiakos 1-0 Marseille
Giorgos Masoras smashed home a near-post rebound after a nice save from Steve Mandanda as the Greeks thought they had opened up a lead in the 53rd minute only to see VAR spot offside.
But it was super sub Ahmed Hassan who would replace Masouras in the 84th minute and deliver the winner off an assist from longtime Marseille star Mathieu Valbuena early in stoppage time.
Group D
Ajax 0-1 Liverpool
Sadio Mane’s mishit cross was wide of the mark but turned into the Ajax goal by Nicolas Tagliafico as Liverpool went to Amsterdam and claimed three points.
It was the first match since Virgil van Dijk’s serious knee injury, and Fabinho had a Man of the Match performance at center back next to Joe Gomez.
The Reds host Sheffield United on Saturday before a UCL visit from Midtjylland on Tuesday.
Midtjylland 0-4 Atalanta
The Serie A visitors love to score, and Duvan Zupata had a goal and assisted this wonder strike from Alejandro “Papu” Gomez as Atalanta built a 3-0 halftime lead.
Papu Gomez! What a strike, he makes it 2-0. pic.twitter.com/YVtUmUNKRm
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 21, 2020
