Win for the ages for Young Boys; Lukaku leads Chelsea to victory; Juventus cruises past Malmo
It was a tale of three strikers as the Champions League group stage started on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored but lost on his return with Manchester United, then Robert Lewandowski and Romelu Lukaku both led their teams to victory in their opening games.
Ronaldo and United were upset in a late 2-1 loss at Swiss champion Young Boys, Lewandowski scored two as Bayern Munich eased to a 3-0 win in Barcelona, and Lukaku’s second-half header gave defending champion Chelsea a 1-0 win over Zenit St. Petersburg.
Juventus won 3-0 at Malmo, and Sevilla held Salzburg 1-1 after the visitors missed two penalties in a game with four.
Thomas Muller scored with a deflected shot in the 33rd minute to ensure Bayern scored for the 23rd consecutive Champions League game, a club record.
Lewandowski got the second in the 56th on a rebound after 18-year-old Jamal Musiala’s effort struck the post.
It stretched Lewandowski’s scoring run to 18 consecutive games across all competitions for Bayern.
The Poland star scored his second goal in the 85th, again after a teammate — Serge Gnabry — hit the post, though there was plenty for Lewandowski to do as he slotted the ball past a host of defenders.
Chelsea had to wait until the 69th minute for Lukaku to make the breakthrough against a stubborn St. Petersburg defence. The Belgium forward towered above a defender to meet Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross with a header for his fourth goal in as many games for Chelsea since his return from Inter Milan.
The results: Group E: Barcelona 0 lost to Bayern 3 (Muller 34, Lewandowski 56, 85); Dynamo Kiev 0 drew with Benfica 0.
Group F: Young Boys 2 (Ngamaleu 66, Siebatcheu 90+5) bt Manchester United 1 (Ronaldo 13); Villarreal 2 (Trigueros 39, Danjuma 73) drew with Atalanta 2 (Freuler 6, Gosens 83).
Group G: Sevilla 1 (Rakitic 42-pen) drew with Salzburg 1 (Sucic 21-pen); Lille 0 drew with Wolfsburg 0.
Group H: Malmo 0 lost to Juventus 3 (Alex Sandro 23, Dybala 45-pen, Morata 45+1); Chelsea 1 (Lukaku 69) bt Zenit Saint Petersburg 0.
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