UEFA Champions League
Five talking points from the Uefa Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Manchester United again, while Lionel Messi scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this week.
Here, AFP Sport takes a look at five talking points from a dramatic round of matches:
- Messi still reigns supreme in Europe
Paris Saint-Germain brought in Lionel Messi hoping that the Argentinian great would be the final piece of the jigsaw as they bid to finally land the Champions League title.
He is yet to score in Ligue 1, but has so far done what he was signed to do by netting three times in as many games in Europe.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner stepped up when PSG were trailing RB Leipzig in Paris, netting twice, including a Panenka penalty, to rescue a vital 3-2 win.
- Ronaldo pulls off another Man United escape act
For the second time in as many games in Europe, Manchester United had Ronaldo to thank for another come-from-behind victory at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retains the backing of the United hierarchy, but his team produced another topsy-turvy display as they fell two goals down to Atalanta inside the first 30 minutes.
Crucially, United struck early in the second half via Marcus Rashford, taking advantage of a porous Atalanta defence to level through captain Harry Maguire before Ronaldo soared to power in the winning header.
Plenty of concerns remain about the defence and general cohesion, but United’s attack is a considerable point of strength — with Ronaldo again coming to the rescue.
- Favourites Bayern, Man City in ominous form
Bayern Munich producing a scintillating four-goal burst in 15 minutes that blew away Benfica in Lisbon, while Pep Guardiola described Manchester City’s 5-1 rout of Club Brugge as one of their “best performances in Europe”.
Six-time champions Bayern overcame key absences — including that of unwell coach Julian Nagelsmann — to make it three wins from three, with 12 goals scored and none conceded.
An untimely injury to Robert Lewandowski derailed Bayern’s title defence last season, when they exited on away goals to PSG in the quarter-finals. While the Poland star is back doing what he does best, the return to form of Leroy Sane has boosted Bayern even more.
As for City, who lack an out-and-out striker after being rebuffed in their pursuit of Harry Kane, Phil Foden showed he is more than capable of leading the attack as a false nine. His outstanding display in Bruges helped City overpower a side that had drawn with PSG and then beaten RB Leipzig in Germany.
- Atletico continue run of Spanish woe
Diego Simeone led Atletico to a memorable La Liga title last season but Spanish clubs appear to not be the forces they were in recent years.
His side are in danger of missing out on a last-16 place for only the second time in nine seasons after a dramatic 3-2 home loss to Liverpool, while Barcelona are struggling in their group and Real Madrid lost at home to minnows Sheriff Tiraspol last month.
Atletico, losing finalists in all-Madrid finals in 2014 and 2016, are second in Group B but level on points with third-placed Porto and have to visit Anfield next time out.
- Ten Hag’s Ajax dark horses again
Dutch champions Ajax raised hopes they could at least replicate their surprise run to the 2018-19 semi-finals with an impressive 4-0 dismantling of Borussia Dortmund in Amsterdam.
Erik ten Hag has successfully rebuilt his side after a series of high-profile departures to Europe’s richest clubs in the last two years, including Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek.
But his new crop have won three of three group stage matches.
Brazilian winger Antony, 21, will have alerted scouts to his ability after capping a brilliant individual display with a wonderful goal. Sebastien Haller has proven a clever buy from West Ham and is the Champions League top-scorer this term with six goals.
-AFP
UEFA Champions League
Osimhen and Aubameyang: Africa’s First Men of the Match in 2025/26 Champions League
The Champions League has barely started and already African fans have something to be proud of.
Two of the continent’s biggest names, Victor Osimhen from Nigeria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Gabon, have become the first African players this season to be named Man of the Match.
For Osimhen, it was a night to remember in Istanbul. Galatasaray were up against Liverpool, a team with a European pedigree and needed someone to step up. Osimhen did just that.
His goal gave Galatasaray a 1-0 win but it was more than just the goal. His energy and how he kept Liverpool’s defenders on their toes all night made him the best player on the pitch.
So his winning of the UEFA Man of the Match award. Galatasaray fans had proof they have a striker who can change games at the highest level.
Meanwhile, on the same night in Marseille, Aubameyang was showing why he has been Africa’s most reliable goal scorer for over a decade.
At 36, some wondered if he still had it on nights like this. His answer was a thunderous “YES.”
Marseille tore Ajax apart in a 4–0 demolition that saw Aubameyang seal his stature as the orchestrator and heartbeat of the French club’s attack.
His movement, his composure and his leadership stood out. So much so that he too was rightfully awarded the Man of the Match.
The fact that these two happened on the same night made it even more special for African football fans.
Osimhen represents the new generation: quick, hungry and with still a few years ahead to make history.
Aubameyang is the veteran still out there to prove – even though he really has nothing to prove anymore – that experience and class don’t fade easily.
Together, they gave African football fans a double reason to smile.
For Nigeria and Gabon, these awards are more than individual trophies. They are ultimately a reminder of how much African players contribute to the Champions League season in, season out.
And the tournament is still in its early stages. So there’s every chance more players from the continent will follow in their footsteps before the Budapest finale in 2026. Only good omens for the 2025 AFCON that starts in a few months.
-Morocco World News
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In his glory days, Jose Mourinho celebrated dramatic goals from his teams by sprinting down the touchline, sometimes sliding on his knees for extra euphoric effect.
On Tuesday, back at his former club Chelsea as the new coach of Benfica, Mourinho’s most eye-catching intervention was down the touchline again, but this time his run was to urge his team’s fans to stop hurling objects onto the pitch.
Benfica under Mourinho, in his fourth game in charge, were defeated 1-0 by an under-strength Chelsea side in the Champions League after a fist-half Richard Rios own goal.
The self-declared “Special One” was lauded by the home fans with a few choruses of “Jose Mou-rin-ho” in recognition of his successes – three Premier League titles and four other trophies – which no other Chelsea manager has come close to matching.
Mourinho, 62, acknowledged the chants with a gentle wave, got a cheer when he ventured onto the pitch to clear a spare ball and quickly vanished down the tunnel at the final whistle after shaking the hand of Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.
It was all a far cry from the fervour of 20 years ago when Mourinho – having led Porto to an unlikely Champions League triumph – turned Chelsea into English champions for the first time in 50 years in 2005 and won the title again a year later.
After a collapse of form, Mourinho departed in 2007 but he won the Champions League again, this time with Inter Milan in 2010, knocking out the Londoners on the way to the final.
He went on to manage Real Madrid before returning to Chelsea where he claimed a third English title and then had spells at Manchester United, London side Tottenham Hotspur – an unforgivable move for many Chelsea fans at the time – and Roma.
As the big offers dried up, Mourinho went on to coach Fenerbahce in Turkey where he lasted little more than a year before his return to Portuguese football with Benfica.
Asked after Tuesday’s defeat by Chelsea if he still had the drive of the early days of his career, Mourinho insisted he felt more motivated.
“If I am in a job it’s because I like to put myself on the line every day,” he told reporters. “I am desperate to win the next match.”
Mourinho said he thought Benfica had deserved more from the game. “We started well, we controlled well. I don’t know if I can say big chances but we had chances for sure.”
Chelsea’s Maresca said he was relieved to secure a win – albeit a scrappy one – after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League and a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the his side’s Champions League opener.
“Sometimes you need to learn to win in another way,” he said of Chelsea’s improved defensive performance. “At least we learned how to win a game with a red card.”
Striker Joao Pedro was dismissed for a second yellow card after coming on as a substitute, the third time in four matches that Chelsea have finished with 10 men
-Reuters
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Hosts Eintracht Frankfurt scored four times in 29 minutes to bounce back from a goal down and hammer Galatasaray 5-1 in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
The Turkish sides are without their talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen who was injured while on international duty with Nigeria.
The Turks had hit Frankfurt on the break with Yunus Akgun completing the move from a Leroy Sane assist in the eighth minute. Germany international Sane, who joined from Bayern Munich this season, became the only player in Champions League history to play for four or more clubs and score or assist on his debut for each of them.
Frankfurt, competing for only the second time in the Champions League main round, struggled to break through Galatasaray’s defence until a defensive error from Akgun in the 37th. Ritsu Doan pounced, charged into the box and Davinson Sanchez deflected the Japanese winger’s shot in for an own goal.
The hosts took the lead in first-half stoppage time when 19-year-old Turkey international Can Uzun scored a superb goal on his Champions League debut after fine control and a quick turn in the box. The hosts netted again before halftime with Jonathan Burkardt’s well-timed glancing header putting them 3-1 up.
With the visitors forced to take more risks after the break, Frankfurt found space and Burkardt completed his dream Champions League debut with another header in the 66th for his second goal of the evening. Ansgar Knauff completed the rout in the 75th.
Frankfurt next travel to Atletico Madrid on September 30 when Galatasaray host Liverpool.
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