CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHDAY 1 TAKEAWAY

Soccer

Written by Aaron Cantin

A long-time criticism of the Champions League group stage? Too many lopsided mismatches as the wealth gap between clubs fuels competitive imbalance on the field. Tell that to favoured Liverpool and Eintracht Frankfurt after their heavy losses Wednesday. Or to coaches Thomas Tuchel and Domenico Tedesco who lost their jobs on the morning after shocking losses for their teams, Chelsea and Leipzig, respectively. Matchday one did not lack storylines and as a supporter, we can only hope the rest of the tournament brings as much excitement as the first round of matches did. Here are the key talking points.

Source (Background Photo): Getty Images

The Future Is Now with Mbappe and Haaland

Mbappé and Haaland both netted two goals as their respective clubs Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City began their European campaigns with victories, underlining just why those two teams are again among the favourites for the title.

The 23-year-old Mbappé, who has seven goals in five league games so far, scored his double in the first 22 minutes of a 2-1 home win over Juventus to become the youngest player to reach 35 goals in the competition — beating the mark held by teammate Lionel Messi.

The 22-year-old Haaland has 25 goals in 20 Champions League games — also a record — after scoring once in each half of Man City’s 4-0 win at Sevilla. The Norway striker, who has 10 goals in six Premier League games this season, has now netted on his Champions League debut for three clubs — Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City.

Chelsea Struggles

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang couldn’t give Chelsea’s stuttering attack any kind of instant spark as the Blues failed to impress once again following an inconsistent start to the season. Aubameyang made his Chelsea debut after his move from Barcelona, playing with a face mask to protect his injured jaw and had one goal ruled out for offside. At the same time, his teammates repeatedly failed to beat goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.

Instead, Mislav Oršić continued his scoring streak against English teams, racing away from Wesley Fofana — another of Chelsea’s marquee signings — to score on a breakaway in the 13th minute.

Liverpool In Trouble?

Liverpool’s rough start at Napoli saw the 2019 champion trail after a penalty within five minutes and go in at halftime 3-0 down despite goalkeeper Allison Becker saving a second spot-kick. Luis Diaz cut the lead to 4-1 after 49 minutes but Liverpool was far off its typical hard-pressing intensity.

Though Jurgen Klopp's team has been beaten in just four games in 2022, three were in the Champions League including Real Madrid’s 1-0 win in the final in May.

Eden Hazard Finally Shows Up

If Benzema has to miss significant time for Madrid, Hazard signalled that he might be ready to pick up some of the slack. The Belgium playmaker — who was on the bench before replacing Benzema — set up the first two goals before scoring the third himself against Celtic. It was his first Champions League goal in 651 days and first in any competition since January.