Cristiano Ronaldo showing no signs of letting up, Napoli fail to deliver on hype, Monaco missing firepower
Champions League talking points: We look back at the action from Wednesday night's fixtures
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham and Manchester City began their Champions League campaigns with impressive victories on Wednesday night.
Harry Kane shone for Tottenham at Wembley by scoring twice to help see off Borussia Dortmund 3-1, while City ran riot against Feyenoord, putting four past the Dutch champions.
Elsewhere, reigning champions Real Madrid beat APOEL Nicosia 3-0, Monaco drew 1-1 with RB Leipzig while Spartak Moscow were held at NK Maribor.
Here, we look back at the action from Wednesday night's Champions League fixtures:
City finding their rhythm
Victory over Liverpool at the weekend seemed something of a turning point for Pep Guardiola’s men, with the side running four past Feyenoord tonight in a dominant display at De Kuip. John Stones, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus were all on point as City once again flexed their muscles to steamroll their Dutch opponents. Feyenoord may have posed a meek challenge, true, but this was a thrilling reminder of City’s attacking prowess, with the visitors now looking more and more like a Guardiola side.
New season, same old Ronaldo
Much has been written of Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent metamorphosis on the domestic and European stage. Having adopted a more hands-off approach to his game, the Portuguese has ironically enjoyed greater personal success in front of goal. And so it was the case tonight, with the forward once again showcasing his brilliance to clinch a brace against Apoel Nicosia. In a remarkable testament to his quality and longevity on the European stage, Ronaldo has now scored in the opening Champions League game in each of the last six seasons. He may 32 years old, but Ronaldo has shown few signs of letting up.
Monaco missing firepower
The loss of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva to PSG and Manchester City respectively may not yet have hindered the French champions in Ligue 1 – the side have won four of their opening five games – but it could well be a different story in Europe. Up against RB Leipzig, Monaco struggled to break down the Champions League’s latest debutants in a result that bodes ominously for the side. The Germans failed to complete a single dribble in the first half yet still managed to take the lead after 32 minutes before holding on for a respectable draw. Monaco's hopes of repeating last season’s European feats could be nothing but wishful thinking.
More needs to be done to combat hooliganism
The tie between Spartak Moscow and FC Maribor was marred by crowd violence after a flare was shot in the direction of the match official. Prior to kick-off, fans from both sides clashed outside the stadium in skirmishes that involved police. The incident was yet another reminder that football hooliganism hasn’t been stamped out across Europe, and that more security measures must be implemented to prevent fans fighting and pyrotechnics from being smuggled into stadiums.
Napoli as dark horses? Maybe not
Napoli failed to live up their reputation as Champions League dark horses as they were beaten 2-1 by Shaktar Donestk in Ukraine. Despite all their firepower, the Italians were only capable of finding the back of the net through a Arkadiusz Milik penalty in the 71st minute. With 16 attempted shots, seven of which were on target, Napoli had their chances but couldn’t convert in what was a hugely disappointing result for the side and one which hands Manchester City the advantage in Group F. Any hopes of throwing a major European upset now look bleak after such a result.
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