UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 Review

The second matchday in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League has now come to an end, and there were some eye-catching results from across Europe.

Another week of action in the League Phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League has concluded, and there was some enthralling football across the continent of Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

It was a brilliant round of matches for Premier League clubs participating in the competition this season. Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Manchester City all picked up crucial victories, beating the likes of Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich, Bologna, and Slovan Bratislava respectively.

The Gunners’ win against PSG was a statement victory, whilst it was a poignant success and three points against Bayern for Unai Emery’s Villa in B6, 42 years on from the 1982 European Cup Final in Rotterdam. There was also a big surprise result on matchday two, with French Club Lille defeating reigning European Champions Real Madrid 1 – 0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Here, we are going to review the action from the second week of action in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League’s League Phase, with particular focus on the participating Premier League Clubs.

Aston Villa (England) 1 – 0 Bayern Munich (Germany) – Villa Park:

We begin this review with a poignant match for Unai Emery’s Aston Villa at Villa Park on Wednesday. It was the Villans’ first match in European Football’s elite competition since they were defending champions back in 1983.

It was also the first time that they had played against German Giants Bayern Munich since that iconic 1 – 0 victory in the European Cup Final in Rotterdam back on 26th May 1982. It was also a night that paid tribute to the squad that won the trophy, including the late Gary Shaw.

Onto the game itself, both sides had chances, with Emiliano Martinez being forced into several saves, including multiple efforts from Spurs legend Harry Kane. Villa were the only team to find the back of the net on the night.

The Villans thought that they had taken the lead through their Spanish central defender Pau Torres found the back of the net from a tight angle with barely more than twenty minutes having elapsed in the first half. However, the goal was disallowed because Jacob Ramsey was offside in the build-up.

It was Jhon Duran who was the Villa hero again – wearing number 9 just like Peter Withe did in 1982. He found the back of the net with a delightful goal, lifting the ball over Manuel Neuer and into the back of the Bayern net (79’).

The full time whistle then came to the delight and relief of the Aston Villa faithful.

Take a look at the highlights below (via TNT Sports):

Arsenal (England) 2 – 0 Paris Saint-Germain (France) – Emirates Stadium

Moving on to Arsenal, they got their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign started with a draw against Atalanta, and Mikel Arteta’s side were looking for a statement result on Tuesday night against the current French Champions Paris Saint Germain.

It was a deserved 2 – 0 win for the Gunners in what was a superb performance by the hosts at the Emirates Stadium. It was Kai Havertz who gave his side the lead early on in the first half when the Germany international found the net with a great, powerful header after he had met a superb cross into the penalty box from fellow forward Leandro Trossard (20’).

Arteta’s Arsenal made it 2 – 0 shortly after when Bukayo Saka found the back of the net directly from a free-kick just outside of the penalty area. VAR did review it in case it got a touch on the way through to the back of the net, but thankfully for the hosts and their fans, the goal was confirmed.

This was the final goal on what was a tremendous night for Arsenal, who got their first three points of their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League League Phase Campaign.

Take a look at the highlights below (via TNT Sports):

Liverpool (England) 2 – 0 Bologna (Italy) – Anfield

Arne Slot’s first European match at the historic and atmospheric Anfield saw his Reds side take on Serie A side Bologna as they looked to follow up their 3 – 1 victory against AC Milan at the San Siro last time out with yet another victory to make it 6 points from 6.

It turned out to be a hard fought and competitive game for the Reds against their Italian counterparts, but in the end Slot’s side were able to come away with what was in the end a deserved 2 – 0 victory for the team from Merseyside.

Former Brighton midfielder Alexis MacAllister gave the hosts the lead from close range after he met a superb cross from Mohamed Salah following a superb attacking build-up from the Reds (11’). The win for Liverpool was then confirmed when Salah unleashed a sensational curling effort from just inside of the penalty area and into the back of the net to double his side’s advantage on the night (75’).

Arne Slot’s Liverpool have taken another significant step towards sealing automatic qualification for the Round of 16 in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.

Take a look at the highlights below (via TNT Sports):

Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) 0 – 4 Manchester City (England) – Tehelné pole:

Finally, we now take a look at Manchester City’s League Phase game in the Champions League away from home against the reigning Champions of Slovakia, Slovan Bratislava. Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens were looking for their first three points of their European Campaign this season in the Slovakian Capital.

It turned out to be an emphatic 4 – 0 victory away from home for City, who opened the scoring on Tuesday night through a goal from Ilkay Gundogan when he found the net from range in what was his first goal since he returned to the club from FC Barcelona in the most recent Summer Transfer Window (8’).

It was 2 – 0 to the visitors very shortly after that when Jeremy Doku found Phil Foden with a sensational cross, with England international Foden guiding the ball into the back of the net from close range (15’).

Erling Haaland scored his first goal of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League not long after half time, with the Norwegian forward scoring after being found with a through ball (58’). The four goal rout by City was completed when Academy Product James McAtee found the net with a tidy finish after receiving the ball from fellow goal scorer Foden (74’).

The final whistle came to confirm an emphatic and ruthless 4 – 0 win for Manchester City away from home against Slovan Bratislava in the Slovakian Capital.

Take a look at the highlights below (via TNT Sports):

Other Results:

Below is a round-up of the other results from the second week of action in the League Phase of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

• RB Salzburg (Austria) 0 – 4 Brest (France) – Abdallah Sima 24’ & 70’, Mahdi Camara 66’, and Mathias Pereira Lage 75’.
• VFB Stuttgart (Germany) 1 – 1 Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) – Enzo Millot 7’; Kaan Kairinen 32’.
• Inter Milan (Italy) 4 – 0 Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) – Hakan Calhanoglu 11’, Marko Arnautovic 59’, Lautaro Martinez 71’, and Mehdi Taremi 81’.
• Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 7 – 1 Celtic (Scotland) – Emre Can 7’, Karim Adeyemi 11’, 29’, & 42’, Serhou Guirassy 40’, 66’, and Felix Nmecha 79’; Daizen Maeda 9’.
• FC Barcelona (Spain) 5 – 0 BSC Young Boys (Switzerland) – Robert Lewandowski 8’, 51’, Raphinha 34’, Inigo Martinez 37’, and Mohamed Ali Camara OG 81’.
• Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 1 – 0 AC Milan (Italy) – Victor Boniface 51’.
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1 – 1 Sporting CP (Portugal) – Jerdy Schouten 15’; Daniel Braganca (84’).
• Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 0 – 3 Atalanta (Italy) – Berat Djimsiti 21’, Ademola Lookman 44’, and Raoul Bellanova 48’.
• Girona (Spain) 2 – 3 Feyenoord (Netherlands) – David Lopez 19’, Donny Van de Beek 73’; Yangel Herrera OG 23’, Antoni Milambo 33’, and Ladislav Krejci OG 79’.
• RB Leipzig (Germany) 2 – 3 Juventus (Italy) – Benjamin Sesko 30’, 65’; Dusan Vlahovic 50’, 68’, and Francisco Conceicao 82’.
• Benfica (Portugal) 4 – 0 Atletico Madrid (Spain) – Kerem Akturkoglu 13’, Angel Di Maria 52’, Alexander Bah 75’, and Orkun Kokcu 84’.
• Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2 – 2 AS Monaco (France) – Petar Sucic 45+3’, Martin Baturina 66’; Mohammed Salisu 74’, and Denis Zakaria 90’.
• Lille (France) 1 – 0 Real Madrid (Spain) – Jonathan David 45+3’.
• Sturm Graz (Austria) 0 – 1 Club Brugge (Belgium) – Christos Tzolis 23’.

Next Up for the Premier League Clubs:

Below is a list of the matches to come on Matchday Three of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League’s League Phase for the English Clubs, which gets underway on Tuesday 22^nd October:

• Arsenal (England) vs. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) – Emirates Stadium, Tuesday 22^nd October, 20:00 KO.
• Aston Villa (England) vs. Bologna (Italy) – Villa Park, Tuesday 22^nd October, 20:00 KO.
• Manchester City (England) vs. Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) – Etihad Stadium, Wednesday 23^rd October, 20:00 KO.
• RB Leipzig (Germany) vs. Liverpool (England) – Red Bull Arena, Wednesday 23^rd October, 20:00 KO.

There were some incredible results this week in the UEFA Champions League, with Villa beating Bayern, Lille beating Real Madrid, and Arsenal comfortably beating current French Champions Paris Saint Germain at the Emirates Stadium.

Excitement and anticipation is already building ahead of the third round of action in the League Phase of the 2024/25 Champions League.

There is no better way to watch world-class football than with an Eventmasters VIP Hospitality Package. Book now to avoid disappointment!