The UEFA Champions League's first matchday is over after 26 goals from Wednesday's eight games. Liverpool were demolished at Napoli, while Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Tottenham were all victorious in the late slate. Early on, Ajax beat Rangers 4-0 while Sporting Lisbon went to Eintracht Frankfurt and got a lopsided victory. There was plenty of drama, but we'll need to wait to see if any of the managers on this day meet the fate of some of the coaches from Tuesday. Both Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel and RB Leipzig's Domenic were fired, with Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui likely on thin ice after his team's start.
Here's a look at the scores and what to know from Wednesday's games:
All times Eastern
Ajax 4, Rangers 0
Sporting Lisbon 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Napoli 4, Liverpool 1
Tottenham 2, Marseille 0
Bayern Munich 2, Inter 0
Barcelona 5, Viktoria Plzen 1
Club Brugge 1, Leverkusen 0
Atletico Madrid 2, Porto 1
Liverpool's run of dominance has come to what feels like a screeching halt with manager Jurgen Klopp looking for answers. A team that once looked unstoppable now looks mediocre with atrocious defending seeing them concede the first goal in five of their seven games played this season.
It was another shocking performance from the Reds, the most concerning of the season, losing 4-1 at Napoli on Wednesday. They were thoroughly thrashed by an inspired Italian side that stayed hot.
The Liverpool defense was out of sync, Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to be exposed as a below-average defender, and they had no answers at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.
But, Napoli do deserve major credit. They have had to rebuild, in a sense, but they've really reloaded. With club legends Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz all leaving in the summer transfer window, they have looked incredible with Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia turning into an absolute superstar.
New signing Gio Simeone also found the back of the net as Napoli announce that they are here to stay. What a night to remember for the hosts, while Liverpool hope to soon forget what they just went through.
It feels too early to say Barcelona are a contender. With all the new signings, it's going to take some time to fully gel. But Robert Lewandowski is a great enough player to carry Barca are in this competition. He scored three times against Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday, recording his sixth career UCL hat trick. Only Lionel Mesi and Cristiano Ronaldo have more. and Lewandowski is the first player to record a Champions League hat trick for three different clubs after doing it with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund previously.
With the Polish striker dominating in attack and Jules Kounde looking like an absolute stud, Barca appear to have something special brewing, and Wednesday looked like a small sample of that. But we will know truly what they are made of next week when they go to Bayern Munich with Lewandowski facing his former team.
That's quite a way to show up in your Champions League debut, Richarlison. The Brazilian star scored two headers in the second half as Tottenham took advantage of going a man up after Chance Mangula's red card 47 minutes in.
The former Everton man has been a sharp signing for Antonio Conte and has helped with the team's creativity in attack, but getting on the scoresheet will be a relief. Here's his winning goal:
His fantastic form comes as Heung-min Son has yet to score this season. Assuming Son regains his form, this could be the year the trophy drought ends.
Atletico Madrid vs. Porto left plenty to be desired for the first 90 minutes. There were some decent chances, but it wasn't the game you were going to be glued to unless you are a supporter of either team. But if you decided to flip to it for added time, you were treated to some spectacular moments. Three goals came in added time with Antoine Griezmann scoring the winner with his back-post header. Take a look:
This award goes to Mohammed Kudus of Ajax for his delightful turn and rocket of a shot in the 4-0 win over Rangers.
Buckle up, as Matchday 2 is next Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's the complete schedule:
Tuesday, Sept. 13
Sporting Lisbon vs. Tottenham, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Viktoria Plzen vs. Inter Milan, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Liverpool vs. Ajax,, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Rangers vs. Napoli, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Marseille vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Porto vs. Club Brugge, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Wednesday, Sept. 14
AC Milan vs. Dinamo Zagreb, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Shaktar Donestk vs. Celtic, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+)
Chelsea vs. RB Salzburg, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Juventus vs. Benfica, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
FC Copehagen vs. Sevilla, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
Maccabi Haifa vs. PSG, 3 p.m. (Paramount+)
All times Eastern
Ajax 4, Rangers 0
Sporting Lisbon 3, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Napoli 4, Liverpool 1
Tottenham 2, Marseille 0
Bayern Munich 2, Inter 0
Barcelona 5, Viktoria Plzen 1
Club Brugge 1, Leverkusen 0
Atletico Madrid 2, Porto 1
It's Griezmann! 2-1! Atleti beat Porto with all the goals coming in added time!
Here's what looks to be the winning goal for Tottenham via Richarlison, who scores on his UCL debut. He's since added a second as Tottenham lead 2-0.
Richarlison gets his first goal for Spurs! Off a lovely cross from Perisic, the Brazilian heads home with 14 minutes to go! This is a game they have to win considering they've played nearly the entire second half a man up!
On his UCL debut with Barca, it's three for the striker! His sixth UCL hat trick. He finishes with class from the top of the box with one touch after a fine pass from Ferran!
Sane finds the net again after some incredible team passing, though it may go down as an owl goal, and the Bavarians lead 2-0. Inter have yet to make a change, and this one feels over.
After Zielinksi makes it 4-0, Luis Diaz puts Liverpool on the board with a tidy finish in the box. They are going to need a mircale to fully get back into this one though.
And it's another goal for Napoli! A 4-0 lead for the Italian side! A shocking partial result. It's equaling their worst defeat from back in 1966 against Ajax!
Just look at Trent Alexander-Arnold's "defending" ...
Bayern 1, Inter 0
Barcelona 3, Viktoria Plzen 1
Napoli 3, Liverpool 0
Atletico Madrid 0, Porto 0
Tottenham 0, Marseille 0
Club Brugge 1, Leverkusen 0
Liverpool concede again! Simeone scores in front of goal after some fantastic work by Khvicha Kvaratshelia! What in the world is happening?m
Vitkoria Plzen have gotten one back! Sykora is able to head home from inside the box as he's left totally unmarked after a loose ball! Game on?
It's Robert Lewandowski! A stellar strike from the top of the box for the Polish superstar, and it's 2-0 to the hosts! A lovely effort with incredible placement!
The hosts have found the net again against Liverpool! It's 2-0, though it could be 4-0! Zielinksi sends Anguissa through with a lovely first-timer, and he finishes past Alisson with a low effort!
The Germans have taken the lead at the San Siro against Inter Milan! It's Leroy Sane! Kimmich plays him through, and the German controls it well in the box and finishes with precision!
Another penalty kick for Napoli! Oshimen wins it after being stepped on by Van Dijk, and the Nigerian takes it ... but Alisson saves it well!!!!! Massive save!
Here's Kounde getting a head on the corner, finding Kessie in front of goal for the easy header.
Barca have taken a 1-0 lead over Viktoria Plzen. It's Kessie who scores from close range as their UCL campaign gets off on the right foot!
Zielinksi takes it...and it's in! 1-0 to the Italian club! A brilliant start for the hosts!
The six late games have started! And it's nearly off with a bang as Oshimen almost gets an early goal for Napoli in the first minute with the Nigerian hitting the post!
It was a 3-0 victory for Sporting CP as Marcus Edwards, Francisco Trincao and Nuno Santos found the back of the net. It was a match of what could have been as Frankfurt took 11 shots but only two of those tested the keeper while Sporting dominated posession.
It's a dissapointing start for Rangers but Ajax were in a different class despite losing so much during the summer with Erik ten Hag and numerous players departing. Ajax's factory keeps rolling.
This is getting out of hand as Pedro Porro dropped an absolute dime of a pass to make Santos' finish easy.
Steven Bergwijn pulled up after scoring Ajax's fourth goal and it looks like he has injured his hamstring. Ajax will hope things aren't too bad but Lucas Ocampos will enter.
