Karim Adeyemi dazzled as Borussia Dortmund demolished Celtic, while both Barcelona and Manchester City secured their inaugural wins in the revamped Champions League on Tuesday.
Adeyemi bagged a hat trick in the first half, leading Dortmund to a resounding 7-1 victory over Celtic on home turf. This triumph follows Bayern Munich’s overwhelming 9-2 conquest over Dinamo Zagreb in their initial matchup.
Robert Lewandowski propelled Barcelona into victory as the Spanish behemoth cruised to a 5-0 victory against Switzerland’s Young Boys, with his former comrade İlkay Gündoğan guiding City to a commanding 4-0 triumph against Slovan Bratislava. In another showcase of his prowess, Erling Haaland netted his 42nd goal in 41 Champions League appearances.
City, having settled for a 0-0 draw against Inter Milan in their opener, saw Barcelona bouncing back from a 2-1 defeat at Monaco, marking the team’s first stumble under fresh manager Hansi Flick.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal outmaneuvered his old squad, Paris Saint-Germain, in a 2-0 win with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka finding the net in the first half. PSG’s manager Luis Enrique faced backlash for sidelining Ousmane Dembélé.
In his youth, Arteta thrived during an 18-month stint at PSG while on loan from Barcelona.
Dortmund fans express dissent
Dortmund seems to have quickly acclimatized to the new format, being last season’s runner-up and now boasting 10 goals from two games after debuting with a 3-0 triumph over Club Brugge. However, its supporters vociferously expressed discontent over the reforms through a massive tifo criticizing UEFA.
This season saw UEFA reshuffle Europe’s premier contest, adding four additional teams. The traditional group stage was replaced by a league-style layout, where each of the now 36 participants faces eight different adversaries once during the opening phase.
In theory, UEFA predicted the alterations would lead to more competitive matches, yet Tuesday’s lopsided results for Barca, City, and Dortmund challenge that notion.
The blowouts continued as Inter Milan blanked Red Star Belgrade 4-0, and first-timer Brest crushed Salzburg 4-0 on the road, showcasing impressive consistency in its European campaign.
Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi converted a penalty against Red Star’s keeper Omri Glazer and assisted two additional goals for Inter, amidst tension following a missile strike from Iran against Israel.
From Senegal, Abdallah Sima found the back of the net twice for Brest, swelling his total to three goals across two matches, having previously contributed in the French club’s 2-1 victory over Austria’s Sturm Graz.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Bayer Leverkusen outlasted AC Milan 1-0 in Germany as Victor Boniface polished off a finely executed play.
Daniel Bragança found the equalizer late in Sporting Lisbon’s 1-1 standoff with PSV Eindhoven.
Kaan Kairinen’s magnificent free kick salvaged Sparta Prague’s 1-1 draw at Stuttgart.
A sprawling fan display proclaiming “Back in Europe” adorned the stands at Stuttgart, marking the team’s first Champions League contest at home since a 1-1 draw against Barcelona back in February 2010.
Edited by: Ali Musa
Axadle international–Monitoring
