Paris, September 28 (Xinhua) -- On the 28th, the 2021-2022 European Football Champions League staged a number of wonderful duels. In a strong dialogue between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at home, Messi scored his first goal after joining his new club to help "Greater Paris" win 2-0.
Paris Saint-Germain player Lionel Messi (second from left) celebrates a goal with his teammates on 28 September. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
La Liga duo Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid played on the same day, but their fates were very different. The former faced The Champions League "new army" Sheriff Tiraspol and suffered a 1:2 defeat in the case of an absolute advantage on the field, while the latter defeated AC Milan 2:1 with Suarez's penalty when he conceded a goal first.
The "Greater Paris" vs Manchester City match is undoubtedly the focus of this round. Last season, in the Champions League semi-finals, Paris Saint-Germain was "double-killed" by Manchester City, and this season, the two teams were drawn to the same group because of their narrow road. Messi, who had just missed two Ligue 1 games due to injury in the previous game, returned to this game and started with Mbappe and Neymar to form a forward "trident". Facing Manchester City led by former mentor Guardiola, Messi desperately needs to prove himself in such a strong showdown.
Paris Saint-Germain player Lionel Messi (left) competes with Manchester City player Bernardo Silva on Sept. 28. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
In the eighth minute, "Greater Paris" launched an attack on the right side, Mbappe burst into the box to send an inverted triangle back pass, Neymar shot to the foot, and Guyer, who was buried at the back point, exploded into the net with his right foot after the ball, and the home team made a fantastic start. After conceding the ball, Manchester City stabilized their position in time and gradually occupied the possession advantage on the field, but always failed to score. In the 74th minute, nearly 50,000 "Greater Paris" fans finally waited for the moment they had been waiting for. Messi played a delicate wall-bumping match with Kylian Mbappe in front of the penalty area, and then used his trademark left foot to push the goal on the edge of the penalty area, scoring the first goal of his "Greater Paris" career and also sealing the victory for the team.
On 28 September, Paris Saint-Germain players celebrated scoring goals. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
In another group A match, Bruges from Belgium beat Leipzig 2-1 away from home. After two rounds of group matches, Paris Saint-Germain and Brugge are both one win and one draw, with four points in the top two of the group, Manchester City is third with 3 points from one win and one loss, and Leipzig is at the bottom of the two games.
Bruges player Riez (right) celebrates with teammate Van Naken after scoring a goal in the match on Sept. 28. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Kevin Vogt)
Real Madrid in Group D face Moldovan team Sheriff Tiraspol, who have reached the Champions League for the first time. In the whole game, although Real Madrid had an absolute advantage, the number of shots on goal was 34-5, and the possession rate reached 75%, but in the end it lost 1:2.
In the 25th minute, Yakhshboyev's header broke through the goal to give the sheriff the lead. In the 64th minute, Vinicius broke through and fell, the referee awarded a penalty after VAR confirmation, and Benzema equalized for Real Madrid. However, the "Galactic Battleships" a number of offensive adepts are slow to break the goal in the sports war, but the sheriff seized the opportunity at the last moment, and Till scored into the world wave to help the team "upset" to win.
Real Madrid player Camawinga (front left) and Tiraspol sheriff Traore (right) compete in a match on Sept. 28. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Edward Pitts)
In another match in Group D, Inter Milan drew 0-0 with Miner Donetsk. Two rounds later, the sheriff unexpectedly led the group with a two-game win, with Real Madrid in second place with three points and Inter in the bottom two with one point.
Real Madrid suffered a deadly kill, but their city rival Atletico Madrid killed someone else. The opponent of the "Sheets Army" in this round is AC Milan, who has been away from the Champions League for many years. Milan, who played at home, relied on Leo's goal in the 20th minute to take the lead. In the 84th minute, Atletico finally equalised. In injury time, Milan player Kalulu was awarded a handball in the penalty area, and Suarez took a penalty to complete the kill.
Liverpool player Salah (second from left) celebrates a goal with his teammates on 28 September. Xinhua News Agency/Reuters
In contrast, Atletico Madrid's Premier League giants Liverpool won the day with considerable ease. Facing Portuguese Premier League side Porto away, the "Reds" attacking trio Salah, Mane and Firmino were full of firepower, and finally helped the team win 5:1 to achieve two consecutive group stage wins.
Editors: Ding Wenxian, Liang Jinxiong, Wu Junkuan, Yuan Yuxin (Intern)