On the second day of Champions League Matchday 3, Group E got a lot tighter with Chelsea picking up their first Champions League win with a 3-0 victory over AC Milan. The Blues were able to defend Stamford Bridge despite losing Wesley Fofana to an injury in the first half. Sergino Dest had a match to forget starting for AC Milan with Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount passing him with ease to help setup Chelsea during the match. Things are tight now with only two points separating Group E leaders RB Salzburg from the fourth-place team, Dinamo Zagreb.
PSG and Benfica also took steps toward securing qualification with a 1-1 draw in Portugal as Messi's goal was canceled out by an own goal by Danilo. That sees both teams level atop Group H with seven points. Juventus gained ground with their first Champions League win, a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa but an Angel Di Maria hat trick of assists can't close their four-point gap between the leaders.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland scored a brace as Manchester City put five past Copenhagen, and Jude Bellingham became the third youngest captain in Champions League history while Dortmund brushed aside Sevilla, 4-1.
Wednesday's scoreboard
Group E
Red Bull Salzburg 1, Dinamo Zagreb 0
Chelsea 3, AC Milan 0
Group F
RB Leipzig 3, Celtic 1
Real Madrid 2, Shakhtar Donetsk 1
Group G
Manchester City 5, FC Copenhagen 0
Sevilla 1, Borussia Dortmund 4
Group H
Benfica 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1
Juventus 3, Maccabi Haifa 1
Here are a few takeaways from the matches:
Haaland just keeps on delivering
He only needed a half to get a brace for Manchester City, keeping his scoring run going. It's now 19 goals in all competitions with goals in nine straight matches for the Norweigan. October just started. It feels like Haaland will score every time he touches the pitch and nothing that we've seen this season makes it seem like that will stop. Twelve games into his Manchester City career, Haaland has scored more goals than most forwards will score in an entire season. Lionel Messi's record for goals in all competitions during a single season has to be in play. Messi scored 73 goals during his magical 2011-12 season for Barcelona and Haaland is already 26% of the way there while not having played a third of the season yet. If Pep Guardiola is able to get Haaland more rest in games by pulling him at the half, there's no reason to doubt his ability to reach Messi's record.
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Messi, Mbappe and Neymar combine for amazing goal
When PSG's trio are able to play to each others' strengths, the result is usually beautiful. While it wasn't enough to secure a win over Benfica due to an own goal by Danilo Pereira, Messi's goal was something to marvel at. Messi was able to start the chance before getting into position quickly to ensure it ended up in the back of the net.
Perhaps the goal of the week with just a brilliant curling effort.
Sevilla continue sliding, sack manager
There were already reports that Sevilla were moving on from manager Julen Lopetegui and if that wasn't already set in stone, an uninspired loss like allowing four goals to Borussia Dortmund at home was enough to tip the scales. Sevilla have one point in Champions League play while allowing eight goals in three matches, while they are also one point above the relegation zone in La Liga. Lopetegui was visibly upset after the match and it didn't take long after the final whistle to find out why as he has been let go by the Spanish club.
Assuming this was a predetermined decision as Wolves are interested in Lopetegui for their managerial opening and Jorge Sampaoli could be heading back to Sevilla, it's always better to play these games with a caretaker manager instead. It's hard for players to be motivated when they know that a manager's future is already out the door. While Sevilla did score a goal, it wasn't until the second half when the result was already determined. Sevilla could still qualify for the knockout stages but as they're five points behind Dortmund for second in the group, returning to Europa League seems like their ceiling.
Super Angel Di Maria
While Juventus were expected to win against Maccabi Haifa, a comprehensive 3-1 victory could help get their confidence going. Angel Di Maria had a hat trick of assists while Andre Rabiot scored a brace. Max Allegri will be disappointed that Wojciech Szczesny allowed a goal by being caught out of his net, but they did enough. They've never lost three Champions League matches in a row and that won't be a disappointing outcome that Allegri will need to face Wednesday. The team will need more of this to qualify for the knockout stages but their European season had to start somewhere.
Injury worries for RB Leipzig
The day got started with a bittersweet 3-1 victory for RB Leipzig over Celtic at home. While the victory is an important one for RB Leipzig to get their first victory of Champions League play, injuries to Peter Gulacsi and David Raum will cause worry for manager Marco Rose. Gulacsi is Leipzig's captain starting every match but two this season and has come up with big staves on multiple occasions to ensure that the team is never truly out of games. Also able to start counterattacks with his passing out of the back, going off with a non-contact injury after only 13 minutes could be quite a worry. His backup Janis Blaswich is an experienced keeper in the Netherlands and lower division of Germany but with only four appearances for RB Leipzig, Gulacsi missing significant time could cause a downturn in the team's defense.
