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Good morning, Fear The Wall!
Yesterday was the second slate of Champions League match-day 2 matches. Borussia Dortmund squared off with Zenit St. Petersburg and eventually prevailed in a 2-0 victory over the Russian champions. Dortmund now sit third in Group F with three points, while Lazio and Club Brugge sit atop the group and Zenit are dead last.
The only other German team in Champions League action yesterday was RB Leipzig as they took on Manchester United. It wasn’t very pretty for Die Roten Bullen.
RB Leipzig Get Embarrassed
That’s really the only way to describe what happened to Leipzig against Manchester United yesterday. The Red Devils pulled out to an early 1-0 lead on a Mason Greenwood goal in the 21st minute. The score remained 1-0 until the final 15 minutes when United scored four goals, including a hat-trick by Marcus Rashford, to take all three points against the East German club.
I’m sure no tears were shed for RB Leipzig.
Leipzig looked absolutely lost against United, but I don’t think people should be this shocked. Yes, Leipzig were a UCL semi-finalist last year, but they haven’t really been tested this year, in Champions League or Bundesliga play. This is a very difficult group for Leipzig, with United and Paris Saint-Germain also in Group H along with minnow İstanbul Başakşehir, so one of United, PSG or Leipzig will be playing in Europa League. It should lead to plenty of drama and excitement for neutrals moving forward.
Barcelona Grab Win Over Juventus
Probably the match everyone was talking about when the Champions League groups were announced was Barcelona v. Juventus over in Group G. While a second positive COVID test for Cristiano Ronaldo put a damper on this match, I don’t know what he could’ve done to lead Juve to victory as the Catalans won decisively in a 2-0 result.
Ousmane Dembele scored the opener for Barcelona in the 14th minute off what looked like a deflected shot looping into the right corner. Juve fans will argue that they should’ve had more goals, were it not for Alvaro Morata being offside three times yesterday. Things got worse for Juve in the 85th minute when Merih Demiral was sent off for an unnceccesary kick on Miralem Pjanic after a loose ball. The fate of the Italians was sealed during stoppage time when Ansu Fati was brought down from behind and inside the box, and some guy named Lionel Messi scored the penalty.
The Daily Buzz
What are your thoughts on the Champions League matches? How do you see the groups shaking out after match-day 2?