Wednesday UCL Recap

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Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League continued with Group E,F,G and H taking action on Wednesday. Holders Real Madrid started the post-CR7 era in the Champions League with a 3-0 win against AS Roma at the Santiago Bernabèu to start their title defence. Juventus, with Cristiano Ronaldo, got their campaign off to a good start with a 2-0 win away at Valencia. Manchester United got a strong 3-0 victory against BSC Young Boys at Switzerland while Manchester City fell to a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad to Lyon. Bayern Munich and Ajax recorded wins while Hoffenheim earned a draw in their first ever game in the Champions League. Here are the three things learned from last night’s action.

Ronaldo sees Red in UCL debut


Juventus made a big statement bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo in their quest to win the Champions League since 1996 and while they started off with a 2-0 win against Valencia, the biggest talking point with the Portuguese and it wasn't for the right reasons. Ronaldo, 30 minutes to his UCL debut for the Old Lady, was sent off for an altercation with Jeison Murillo leaving the pitch in tears. Juve held their nerve with Miralem Pjanic scoring twice from the penalty spot but the game will be remembered for CR7 and his controversial red card and how many matches he may miss for that.

Bale Joins the 18-goal club


Ronaldo's former side Real Madrid, got their title defence to a good start beating AS Roma 3-0 at home. Isco, Gareth Bale and Mariano were on the scoresheet with the Welsh forward scoring a landmark goal. Bale's goal in the game was his 18th in the Champions League leveling with the likes of Ronaldinho and Andy Cole. Bale will look to be the man in the post-CR7 era and is in need of a strong season as long as he's not on the medical table which has affected his time at Madrid.

City fall short at the Etihad


Manchester City has a great season in the Premier League but left a lot to be desired in the Champions League last season getting knocked out in the quarterfinals. Pep would want better season in Europe as they're the strongest team from the EPL to go far this season. However, they started off with a 2-1 defeat at home to Lyon. Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir caused problems for the Citizens despite Lyon having less possession and few chances. City will recover from this but must do better to make things happen for them this UCL season.

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