3' min
It was a night of surprises: Juventus suffered their first defeat of the season, Aston Villa secured a perfect record with three wins, PSG and PSV ended in a draw, Monaco netted five goals (5-1 against Red Star), and Sporting CP triumphed, with Gyokeres once again the star. But it was also a night for stars, like Vinicius dazzling at the Bernabeu, drawing comparisons to Pelé, or Camarda's record-breaking debut for Milan. On the other hand, it was a night of bad news, particularly for Arsenal’s Calafiori, who left the pitch with a serious knee injury, raising concerns for both Spalletti and the Italian national team ahead of November's Nations League matches.
The first half of this Champions League round was a whirlwind of emotions. Beyond the great balance of play, the new format has given smaller clubs the ambition to upset pre-match predictions. As we await the other games, the standings are led by Emery's Aston Villa with 9 points, followed by Monaco, Sporting CP, and Arsenal with 7. Then come Brest, Benfica, Dortmund, and the rest. It’s tough to make predictions because every matchday is unpredictable, and challenges are lurking for everyone, without exception.
The action began with Paulo Fonseca's Milan. The Rossoneri won 3-1, though not without difficulty, even with a man advantage from the first half due to Onyedika’s red card. Pulisic scored an Olympic goal directly from a corner, and Reijnders added a brace to secure Milan's first three points in the Champions League. However, the real story of the night was Camarda, who replaced Morata in the 75th minute. He became the youngest player in Milan's history and the youngest Italian to debut in the Champions League. He nearly marked the occasion with a goal, but it was ruled offside by VAR.
The night started well for the Italian teams but ended poorly, as both Juventus and Bologna lost. The Bianconeri were dominated at home by Stuttgart, who scored in injury time through former Atalanta player El Bilal Touré. Meanwhile, Bologna wasted too many chances and paid the price for defensive lapses against Emery’s Aston Villa. The Rossoblù sit with just one point, but it’s still all to play for as they aim to finish in the top 24 and progress further.
The most thrilling match was undoubtedly between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, a rematch of last June’s Champions League final. Once again, the Blancos emerged victorious, though they struggled until the 60th minute. Dortmund took a 2-0 lead in the first half, only for Real Madrid to mount a comeback led by Vinicius, in Ballon d'Or form. “He reminded me of Pelé,” said Butragueño to Marca, as Vinicius scored a masterful hat-trick, carrying the team on his shoulders and leading Real to a 5-2 victory.
Luis Enrique’s PSG failed to gain momentum, settling for a 1-1 draw against PSV, exposing many of their offensive struggles. Hakimi responded to Lang’s goal to avoid defeat at the Parc des Princes. Elsewhere, Sporting CP defeated Sturm Graz (2-0), while Girona beat Slovan Bratislava (2-0).
The final match of the night saw Arsenal secure a narrow 1-0 win against Shakhtar at the Emirates, but the main concern was for Calafiori. The Italian defender fell to the ground in pain after an unnatural twist to his knee. Having already suffered a serious injury to his left knee in the past, there’s fear he may be facing a similar situation. The hope is that it’s less serious than it looked, but the footage showed a worrying movement.
