Tuesday was a wild day of Champions League action, kicking off with Jose Mourinho getting his first Champions League victory as manager of Benfica in a 2-0 triumph over Ajax before two favorites dropped points. Barcelona finished with only 10 men due to Ronald Araujo's red card for a challenge on Marc Cucurella, and Estevao shined for the Blues as they won 3-0. Raphinha making his return to the Barcelona squad wasn't enough to push them to victory, but it's a massive victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge while Estevao entered good company, becoming the second youngest player to score in each of his first Champions League starts at 18 years and 215 days old, behind only Kylian Mbappe who did it at 18 years and 113 days old.
The Brazilian just joined Chelsea this summer from Palmeiras, following their exit from the Club World Cup, and he's already showing that he's one of the most important signings of the entire summer for the Blues.
Sticking in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola opted for heavy rotation for Manchester City, and they fell victim to a resurgent Bayer Leverkusen side. Patrick Schick and Alejandro Grimaldo found the back of the net while City struggled to ever get their attack going, even when regulars such as Erling Haaland got involved after coming off the bench. After falling to Newcastle United over the weekend, City have now dropped two straight and could fall as low as 10th in the league phase table by the end of the matchday.
Weston McKennie scored his first goal for Juventus of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Juventus needed every goal to fend off Bodo/Glimt away from home as Jonathan David scored the winner in stoppage time, giving the Italian side a lifeline as they look to make the top 24.
Just when it seemed like the game might be lost, Juventus got what could be the winner in the 91st minute of play. It's quite a finish from Johnathan David after Bodo/Glimt had a chance on the other end. There are still four minutes left, but that's a massive finish.
Juventus will want this one back as in the 85th minute, they'll now need another goal to secure all three points away from home. Midfielder Sondre Fet scored without issue from the spot, and we're level.
After having three disallowed goals in the match, it seemed like Chelsea were set for a fourth, but Liam Delap's goal will stand after being reviewed and deemed to be onside.
Juventus have turned things around in the second half of play, and they now lead with Weston McKennie netting the eighth Champions League goal of his career. It's his first goal this season in all competitions, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the club.
Dortmund will be up a man for the remainder of the game after Juan Foyth exits for denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity. Guirassy's initial effort is saved ,but he's there to follow it up to give Dormund the 2-0 lead.
It's Estavao who finds the back of the ned and Chelsea's teenager has been the brightest star on the pitch in a game full of them.
City are really in trouble, even after making changes following the half, Leverkusen scores another, and Patrik Schick scores to put his side ahead 2-0. Tillman is involved again, and we're rolling.
It's Openda right after the half, the goal went to a VAR check for a foul, but it will stand as it's game on at Bodo/Glimt.
The ball pinged around the box, but who else but Serhou Guirassy to be there to finish it and put Dortmund ahead of Villareal just before the halftime whistle. After a VAR review, the goal will stand.
Well, that's not what the doctor ordered. Ronald Araujo gets a second yellow card after chopping down Marc Cucurella, and Chelsea will now have a man advantage for the remainder of the match with an entire half to go. Barcelona will still be able to get forward with 10, but when their defense has already been a problem, this is going to get stretched.
The Blues force Barcelona into an own goal via a cross from Marc Cucurella, going off Jules Kounde for the own goal. If the Barcelona defender didn't bundle it in, Pedro Neto may have scored, but either way, the Blues lead.
It's Bodo Glimt who scores from a set piece, and it's quite a lead in the first half of play. This could be quite an upset as Blomberg scores his first Champions League goal.
Are we on for an upset? The Leverkusen left back has been known for his free kicks, but even inside the box, he got the job done, and City are on the ropes in the first half of play. This could be one where Guardiola regrets heavy rotation.
Chelsea gave Barcelona the ball on the break via a turnover, but Ferran Torres missed an easy chance. He'll want that one back.
The first goal of the late slate only took five minutes as Harvey Barnes continues his hot form. A lovely setup by Sandro Tonali, and this game is in high gear.
Manchester City are still experiencing growing pains as manager Pep Guardiola leads another rebuild but they have not hit too many stumbling blocks in Europe, entering Matchday 5 in fourth place of the league phase table. They have a favorable game against Bayer Leverkusen, who may have turned the page on the quick but abysmal Erik ten Hag stint, but are still one of the punching bags of the Champions League this season. Leverkusen have conceded 10 goals in four games and there's really no reason to doubt that serial goal-scorer Haaland will add a few more to that count by week's end. -- Pardeep Cattry
It's likely that this match ends in a draw, but Barcelona's defense will give Chelsea every chance possible to win if the Blues can hit the back of the net. Even without Cole Palmer, the Blues have found ways to score as of late, and it'll continue facing Barcelona. Hansi Flick's men have been slow starters to matches, and that will come back to bite them yet again as they'll need to fight back in the second half
It took five matches, but a late goal from Luxembourg international Leandro Barreiro was able to help secure Mourinho's first UCL win at Benfica. It now means that Ajax are the only side to have lost five matches in UCL play, but there will be a long road to go for the Portuguese side to climb up the table. Everything begins with getting the first point, and they've done just that.
These two may have been inconsistent to start the Champions League season but they have rarely been boring, even on days where things have not tipped in their direction. As the 3-3 draw at Club Brugge on Matchday 4 demonstrates, Barcelona have defensive frailties that are easy to exploit, so count on Chelsea's offense – which has been average in Europe so far this season – to have a go or two at goal. The thing about the visitors, though, is that they can score in just about equal measure and have held up fine without Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Lewandowski is returning to fitness, though, which could give Hansi Flick's the necessary boost to take all three points out of Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. -- Pardeep Cattry
We don't want to be repetitive, but when Barcelona are playing all the eyes are always on the Spanish wonderkid who already scored six goals so far this season despite some groin issues that affected his game time in the recent weeks. Lamine Yamal's match on Tuesday will be his first ever game played in England as he missed the match against Newcastle earlier this year. -- Francesco Porzio
Still doing the business at 37 years of age, Lewandowski netted the opener in a demolition of Athletic Club at the weekend before hopping out with a little over an hour played. Hansi Flick is using his veteran striker quite shrewdly and will doubtless have games like this one in mind. No wonder given that Lewandowski's previous meeting with Chelsea in the last 16 of the 2019-20 Champions League saw him deliver three goals and four assists across both legs. -- James Benge
As Chelsea and Barcelona meet at Stamford Bridge, Lamine Yamal and Estevao will take center stage in the match. Raphinha's return to the bench is a big boost for Hansi Flick, but will it be enough to overcome the loss of Pedri?
Chelsea starters: Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Moises Caidedo, Estavao, Enzo Fernandez, Alejandro Garnacho, Pedro Neto
Barcelona starters: Joan Garcia, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie De Jong, Eric Garcia, Ferran Torres, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski
It's Canadian striker Promise David who has given the Belgian side an advantage in the second half of play. There's still almost 30 minutes of soccer remaining, but this would be quite a result for them to pick up.
As late lineups are coming in, Manchester City will ring in the ritaiton with a front three of Oscar Bobb, Savinho, and Marmoush squaring off with Leverkusen. Malik Tillman does start, but on loan City man Claudio Echiverri will start the match on the bench.
Manchester City starters: James Trafford, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nathan Ake, John Stones, Abdukodir Khusanov, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb, Omar Marmoush, Savinho
Bayer Leverkusen starters: Mark Flekken, Jeanuel Belocian, Loic Bade, Jarrell Quansah, Grimaldo, Ibrahim Maza, Aleix Garcia, Ernest Poku, Malik Tillman, Patrick Schick, Christian Kofane
We've reached halftime in the early fixtures, and could Jose Mourinho be on the verge of securing his first UCL win as manager of Benfica? Leading Ajax thanks to a goal in the seventh minute by Samuel Dahl, Benfica will only need to hold off the Dutch side for 45 more minutes. In Istanbul, Galatasaray will need to clean up their shooting in the second half of play to secure their fourth consecutive win in UCL play. With only one of their seven shots in the first half hitting the target, Galatasaray are level with Union St. Gilloise with a half of soccer left to go.
