Champions League Roundup: Shakhtar denied by late Real equaliser while PSG drop points
Shakhtar Donetsk - Real Madrid 1-1
Despite a miraculous performance in the face of atrocity in their homeland, Shakhtar Donetsk were denied an historic win over Real Madrid, as the 14-time European champions scored a 95th minute equaliser to rescue a point in Warsaw.
Eager to inflict Real Madrid’s first competitive defeat of the season, Shakhtar made their intentions known from the very outset, putting up a strong showing in the face of a hungry Los Blancos outfit who gradually began stamping their mark on the game.
It was Karim Benzema who threatened first, forcing Anatoliy Trubin to make a spectacular save nearing the midway mark of the first period, when he let fly with venom from inside the box towards the left post.
Shortly after, Oleksandr Zubkov wasted a great opportunity having dribbled his way inside Madrid’s box, as his shot was cut short with a brilliant stop by Nacho Fernandez.
Having scored an average of three goals per game across their last eight fixtures against Ukrainian sides, the visitors upped the ante and registered successive efforts from Benzema, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde. However, they couldn’t find a way past Trubin, who once again proved instrumental between the posts to take the game level into the second period.
Zubkov paid off his goalkeeper’s saves immediately after the restart, nailing his header within an inch of perfection past compatriot Andriy Lunin into the bottom corner following Bodan Mykhaylichenko’s superb cross.
Unimpressed by his side’s advances, Carlo Ancelotti decided to bring in Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric on the brink of the hour mark, hoping to inject some pace and creativity in his side’s style of play.
However, it was in defence where Los Blancos looked uneasy, as they almost conceded a second after Lassina Traore struck the crossbar having rounded Lunin, before the shot-stopper pulled off a wonderful save off a dipping effort from Zubkov.
Igor Jovicevic’s men held on valiantly in the face of Real pressure, but their defence would be broken five minutes into stoppage time. Toni Kroos' lofted cross into the area was headed home by Antonio Rudiger to preserve Los Blancos' unbeaten start to the season ahead of the season's first El Clasico.
An incredibly nasty clash of heads between the German defender and Trubin saw the contest end in bloody circumstances on a night where Shakhtar did their country proud.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Oleksandr Zubkov (Shakhtar Donetsk)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
Paris SG - Benfica 1-1
Both Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica put one foot into the Champions League knockout stages after a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes. Kylian Mbappe netted his 31st UCL goal for the Ligue 1 champions, making him the club’s all-time top scorer in the competition, overtaking Edinson Cavani.
Two sides who came into this clash unbeaten so far this season met in the French capital, with the subplot dominated by the reported unhappiness of Mbappe. Regardless, PSG’s superstar started, the Parisians were without Lionel Messi due to injury and the hosts’ performance suffered, as they barely threatened an attack in the opening stages with Benfica taking control.
Christophe Galtier’s men were handed the lead before the break though. 18-year-old Antonio Silva, making just his tenth senior appearance, brought down Juan Bernat inside the area, leaving referee Michael Oliver with no choice but to point to the spot.
Despite netting all of his three spot-kicks this season, Neymar was stood down and Mbappe stepped up instead, sending Odysseas Vlachodimos the wrong way to send PSG in ahead at the break.
That momentum carried the hosts through into the second half, with Mbappe missing a trademark curled effort from the left to double the lead. On the hour mark, that squandered chance would be punished as Benfica were awarded a penalty of their own.
Marco Verratti’s late challenge on Rafa Silva handed Joao Mario the chance to equalise from 12 yards and he emphatically took that opportunity, leaving Gianluigi Donnarumma with no hope of denying him.
Neither side found themselves able to take control of the contest after the leveller, with both of their unbeaten records under new management remaining intact. A win either way would’ve secured qualification to the knockout stages, but that looks inevitable for both after Juventus’ defeat to Maccabi Haifa, with a five-point gap separating the Old Lady from the top two.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florentino Luis (Benfica)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
AC Milan - Chelsea 0-2
Mason Mount was instrumental in Chelsea’s 2-0 win at the San Siro as the Blues moved top of Group E and handed ten-man AC Milan a fourth consecutive Champions League defeat against Premier League opposition.
After bouncing back from their 3-0 loss at Chelsea last week with a 2-0 home win over Juventus, AC Milan controlled possession early on in front of a roaring San Siro as they went in search of their sixth home win this season. Chelsea, though, were going to prove a stubborn opponent following their four-match unbeaten run under Graham Potter, and the visitors gradually probed forward.
This led to the first chance when Mason Mount got in behind ex-teammate Fikayo Tomori, who pulled the midfielder down as he was through on goal. It was a double punishment for Tomori as he was sent off, and Jorginho sent Ciprian Tatarusanu the wrong way from the subsequent penalty to score from the spot for the Blues for the 21st time.
Despite Milan’s numerical inferiority, Olivier Giroud almost stunned his former club with a free header from six yards, but the Frenchman headed high and wide. The scare did little to deter Chelsea, now hunting a fourth consecutive win, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubled the visitors’ lead by slamming a low strike past Tatarusanu after Mount’s deft through ball.
Instinctively, Chelsea pushed on after the break as they looked to put the game to bed. Substitute Conor Gallagher almost made an instant impact, firing wide from a tight angle, before Aubameyang was denied by Tatarusanu's reaction save.
Yet, Milan occasionally displayed the kind of threat that previously led to a nine-match scoring streak at the San Siro, with Sergino Dest blazing wide from close range after a fluid Rossoneri counterattack.
The defeat will be a huge setback for Milan’s hopes of qualifying for the UCL knockout stages. But progress is still in their grasp, although they must produce more positive results against Dinamo Zagreb and Salzburg in their final two group fixtures. In contrast, this was a big result for Chelsea, and the Potter revolution continues as the Blues move top of Group E.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mason Mount (Chelsea)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
Celtic - RB Leipzig 0-2
Despite the game remaining level for 75 minutes, RB Leipzig earned a 2-0 win against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League, their first win in Glasgow at the third attempt.
Entering the contest occupying the bottom two spots in Group F, both sides knew it was imperative they got a result. Backed by a vociferous Celtic Park crowd, the Bhoys almost edged ahead in the opening minute as Daezen Maeda couldn’t quite guide Liel Abada’s cross on target.
RB Leipzig soon applied pressure of their own with a brilliant Greg Taylor intervention being required to deny Dominik Szoboszlai a tap-in. Die Roten Bullen continued to push but Celtic’s last-ditch defending kept them out on three separate occasions.
Celtic certainly had their own moments and, shortly after Sead Haksabanovic was denied by Janis Blaswich, Matthew O’Riley hit the post before Taylor’s follow-up hit the crossbar.
The hosts were once again left desperately wondering how they hadn’t taken the lead when Haksabanovic found Kyogo Furuhashi with a pinpoint cross but the forward headed over the crossbar. Celtic suffered a blow before halftime as Abada was forced off injured, although Joe Hart made a big save to deny Christopher Nkunku and ensure the situation didn’t worsen.
Hart made another important stop early in the second period, this time rushing out to halt Willi Orban after the centre-back had been slipped through. The visitors had two more brilliant openings shortly before the hour mark, but Szoboszlai slipped and Timo Werner was let down by a poor touch.
The breakthrough finally came in the 75th minute, as Andre Silva picked out Werner who headed home.
Having scored the opener, Werner turned provider, setting up Emil Forsberg who clinically finished just eight minutes after being introduced from the bench, as RB Leipzig went unbeaten for a fourth consecutive match in all competitions and rose to second in the group.
Meanwhile, Celtic have now lost 18 of their last 24 UCL proper matches and remain bottom of the group.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
Dinamo Zagreb - Salzburg 1-1
In a very tight Champions League Group E, Dinamo Zagreb and RB Salzburg played out a fast-paced 1-1 draw in Croatia.
With only two points separating the top and the bottom of the group, points were at a premium at the Stadion Maksimir, so much so that Dinamo Zagreb had their domestic game this upcoming weekend postponed to allow the team to focus on the visit from Salzburg.
Their extra focus did not appear to do the trick in the early minutes however, as a quality counter-attacking move from the visitors was capped off by Nicolas Seiwald’s driven shot into the bottom corner of the net, seeing Salzburg take a quick lead on the night.
Luckily for the hosts, their fortunes turned in the dying minutes of the first half, when Robert Ljubicic sent a low shot from the outside of the box into a crowd of bodies, and the ball deflected into the back of the net. While the goal was initially ruled out for an offside player interfering with the goalkeeper, the goal was given after a VAR check to see the two sides go in level at the break.
It was the hosts’ game to win in the second half, as they poured the pressure on the Salzburg backline. But while they created a flurry of high-quality scoring chances, the Zagreb attackers appeared to leave their shooting boots at home on the night.
As a result, the visitors looked to take advantage of the lack of ruthlessness from their counterparts. After a fantastic solo run, Luka Sucic looked to have put Salzburg ahead with a thunderous effort from the edge of the box, but his shot rang the crossbar.
After a famous opening night win against Chelsea, three games without a win in the group will leave the Dinamo faithful bitterly disappointed. However, with Group E remaining extremely tight from top to bottom, they can still advance to the knockout rounds with a win and a draw in their final two matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolas Seiwald (RB Salzburg)
See all the match stats on Flashscore.
Borussia Dortmund - Sevilla 1-1
Sevilla turned in a much-improved performance to hold Borussia Dortmund to a draw in Group G of the UEFA Champions League, a result which meant the German side failed to close the gap on Manchester City at the top of the group.
It was a 4-1 humbling at the hands of the Germans a fortnight ago that led to Sevilla bringing back Jorge Sampaoli for a second stint as head coach of the Andalusian side, and the early signs were positive at the Signal Iduna Park.
Ivan Rakitic went close early on, sweeping the ball over the bar after good work by Jesus Navas, but minutes later the veteran Croatian midfielder turned provider to great effect.
Former Bayern Munich defender Tanguy Nianzou was the benefactor, as he was on the end of Rakitic’s fierce free-kick, with the French defender expertly guiding his header beyond Gregor Kobel in the Dortmund goal.
A BVB backlash was inevitable but gradual. Karim Adeyemi failed to feed Anthony Modeste when the Frencham was perfectly-placed to tap into an empty net, but Dortmund would not rue the missed opportunity for long.
Thomas Meunier’s cross found Jude Bellingham, whose perfectly-timed run allowed him to bundle the ball home via a deflection, becoming only the third teenager to score in four consecutive UCL matches.
The introduction of Raphael Guerreiro at halftime allowed Dortmund to pin Sevilla’s wide players back in the second half, but the men in yellow lacked creativity in the final third, and ultimately had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping the scores level.
Erik Lamela was left unmarked two yards from goal after a Sevilla corner was flicked on at the near post, but the Argentinian was denied as Kobel lunged at his feet.
Both managers looked for a winning solution off the bench, but only managed to stifle the game and break any momentum that either side had built up. For the away side, it was a point that draws them level on two points with Copenhagen in the race to earn a place in the UEFA Europa League, a competition they have won six times in the past 16 years.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tanguy Nianzou (Sevilla)