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Matchday 2 of the Champions League group stage is underway with eight games on Tuesday and eight more to follow on Wednesday. Tuesday’s slate is highlighted by the big-time clash between Manchester United and Valencia at Old Trafford, while Manchester City and Juventus pulled away with wins. CBS Sports will keep you updated throughout the day with scores, news, goals and more. Here’s the schedule for today:
Champions League Matchday 2 scores, schedule
Relive Tuesday’s Champions League action
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Champions League takeaways
Real Madrid missed Ronaldo: It was just one of those games. Nothing would go in, the opposing goalkeeper was in fine form, the post stood in the way. Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss to CSKA Moscow saw Los Blancos record 26 shots but just four on frame. 73 percent possession tells the story — Real dominated play and the ball just wouldn’t go in. Now that’s three straight games without a goal for Real, who have seem to lost their scoring touch.
Think this was a game Cristiano Ronaldo could have made a difference?
Golden point for Ajax and Valencia; another poor United showing: Ajax and Valencia didn’t win, but they will feel like they won to a certain degree. Ajax got a great draw at Bayern Munich, where they were lucky to get a result. That said, it’s still a golden point that puts them in a great spot.
Valencia, meanwhile, couldn’t afford a loss or they would be six points back after just two games, but now they have a bit more of life after a scoreless draw at Old Trafford. Valencia gets Young Boys in the next two games while United has Juventus. As for what this means for United, the trend of failing to impress continues. They had a couple chances and were fortunate Valencia wasn’t sharper in the final third, but it never felt like United was going to win that game, despite the late set pieces. The poor run of form continues, and the pressure on Jose Mourinho increases just a bit.
Juventus didn’t miss Ronaldo one bit: On paper, Young Boys vs. Juventus was always going to be a mismatch. The Italian giants are so much stronger than Young Boys, even more so with Cristiano Ronaldo. But with the Portuguese player suspended after his incident against Valencia in the opening UCL match, he sat this one out and Paulo Dybala took over. The young Argentine scored a hat trick and looked fantastic in the process, putting together one of his best showings in recent memory.
It would be silly to think that Dybala’s performance was proof that the team is better without Ronaldo. Sure, the play was better than what we had seen in recent weeks, but part of that can be attributed to Ronaldo still adjusting to life in Italy. The scary thing is, when he fully gels with his new teammates, the sky is the ceiling. And if Ronaldo is at his best alongside Dybala, there may not be a team better suited to win this competition.
Silva, as good as it gets: Manchester City was about to have the pressure turned up big time before David Silva stepped up, stole the ball away in the 87th minute and scored the 2-1 winner for City in what’s a huge result. The star midfielder’s hustle gave his team a chance it didn’t expect, but his pressure on the back line saw them commit an error and he made them pay for it. Silva isn’t known for his defensive ability, and his small stature doesn’t exactly stream strength and power, but his quickness came in hand to pounce on the ball at the perfect moment and finish the day as City’s hero.
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