Есдүгээр сарын 10-нд болсон Аваргуудын лигийн тоглолтуудад Манчестер Юнайтед, Байерн Мюнхен болон Комо багууд хожил байгууллаа.
Аваргуудын лигийн хүрээнд есдүгээр сарын 10-нд болсон тоглолтуудад нийт 23 гоол орж, нэг тоглолтод дунджаар 3.83 гоол бүртгэгдлээ. Манчестер Юнайтед талбайдаа Сабах багийг 4-0 харьцаатай буулган авснаар тус тэмцээнд мянга гаруй хоногийн дараа анхны хожлоо байгуулсан бол Байерн Мюнхен Бодо/Глимт багийг 5-0-ээр хожжээ. Мөн Комо талбайдаа РБ Лейпциг багийг 4-1 харьцаатай хожиж, Ленс баг Славиа Прага багийг 3-2-оор буулган авсан байна. Фенербахче болон Рома багууд 1-1, ПСВ Эйндховен болон Шахтар Донецк багууд 1-1 харьцаатай тус тус тэнцлээ.
Фенербахче багийн дасгалжуулагч Исмаил Картал Роматай тэнцсэний дараа огцрох шийдвэр гаргаснаа мэдэгдсэн нь тоглогчдын хувьд гэнэтийн үйл явдал болсон юм. Гэвч тус багийн ерөнхийлөгч Азиз Йылдырым албан ёсны мэдэгдэл гаргаж, Исмаил Карталын огцрох хүсэлтийг хүлээн авахгүй гэдгээ мэдэгдэн, түүнийг үргэлжлүүлэн ажиллана гэж цохон тэмдэглэв.
Байерн Мюнхены довтлогч Харри Кэйн Аваргуудын лигт дараалсан найман тоглолтод гоол оруулсан амжилтаа үргэлжлүүллээ. Түүнчлэн Комо баг анх удаа Аваргуудын лигийн түвшинд өрсөлдөж буй ч РБ Лейпцигийг хожиж, гайхалтай тоглолтыг үзүүлсэн бол Манчестер Юнайтед багийн хувьд Сабахыг хожсоноор анхаарлаа дараагийн тоглолтууд руу хандуулж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Watching Champions League football on a Thursday night is like seeing a polar bear in Ibiza — deeply jarring, probably a signifier of the endtimes, but, in the moment, actually pretty diverting.
So it was on the third night of this mega matchday slash matchweek. On paper, the six fixtures held less appeal than the Tuesday and Wednesday offerings. But what they lacked in big-ticket intrigue, they made up for in goals — 23 of them, taking the total across all 18 first-round games to 69, an average of 3.83 per match — and an explosive late-night HR crisis, about which more presently.
Manchester United were among the big winners of the night, brushing Champions League debutants Sabah aside to win their first game in this competition in over a thousand days. It was similarly plain sailing for Bayern Munich, who walloped slash-happy Bodo/Glimt, and for Como, everybody’s new favourite team.
Elsewhere there was a dramatic late comeback by French upstarts Lens against Slavia Prague, while Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk picked up creditable points away to Fenerbahce and PSV Eindhoven respectively.
Matchday 1 results on September 10
Fenerbahce 1-1 Roma
PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayern Munich 5-0 Bodo/Glimt
Como 4-1 RB Leipzig
Manchester United 4-0 Sabah
Slavia Prague 2-3 Lens
‘What do you mean, he resigned?’
Archie Brown’s face said it all. The English defender was getting ready to talk to reporters after his Fenerbahce side’s battling 1-1 draw with Roma. Brown had scored a classy equaliser early in the second half; he was probably expecting the first question to be about that. Or about his man of the match award.
Instead, he was asked for his reaction to the breaking news: Ismail Kartal’s resignation as Fener coach. Brown looked completely baffled when the question was translated. “What do you mean, he resigned?” Brown said. “I didn’t know about this.”
Brown with his man of the match award, moments before being told his manager had resigned (Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
He didn’t know and he cannot have seen it coming. Kartal had just become the first Turkish coach to register a Champions League point with the club. The result left something to be desired but Fenerbahce had played well enough, especially in the second half.
“It was a display of football befitting the Champions League,” Kartal said in his post-match press conference. “I would like to congratulate my players.”
One minute and a few gnomic sentences later, he was no longer their manager. “I have made this decision together with my coaching staff in order to open up a new path for Fenerbahce,” Kartal said.
He did not take any questions.
Kartal during the draw against Roma (Bunyamin Celik/Anadolu via Getty Images)
This was Kartal’s fourth spell with the Istanbul club. He had been in charge for 76 days, during which time he led Fenerbahce back to Europe’s top club competition via a pulsating play-off win against Lyon. Credit in the bank quickly devalues in the Turkish football ecosystem, however: two league defeats in four games turned the pressure up on him before the Roma game, as did lingering questions about the team’s style.
Still, a post-match resignation was not on anyone’s bingo card after a quietly encouraging performance. Brown was not alone in his disbelief.
Nor was that the end of the night’s machinations. Late into the evening, Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim issued an extraordinary statement on the club’s website. He laid into journalists and perceived traitors — and insisted that Kartal would continue as coach.
“He’s one of our own,” said Yildirim, who went on to claim that Kartal had made his decision in haste after a fan threw a bottle at him during the match. “It’s a disgrace,” added Yildirim. “Please, let’s uphold the values of the Fenerbahce community.”
Had he, then, convinced Kartal to stay? Yes and no.“Ismail Kartal doesn’t need to say, ‘I’ll carry on’,” said Yildirim. “I’m his senior. I said, ‘You’ll carry on’, and that’s that.”
Are Como credible dark horses?
Those seeking romance in this season’s Champions League could do a lot worse than Como. There is the dinky stadium, set against a jaw-dropping backdrop of mountains and the lake for which the city has always been best known. There is the novelty factor of a club playing at this level for the first time. Then there is their recent journey from the depths of the semi-professional Serie D as recently as eight years ago.They are, in the grand scheme of things, minnows.
There is money behind them. Lots of it, too: in 2019 Como were acquired by a group representing two Indonesian billionaires. They are the richest owners in Italian football, which may take the gloss off the story, depending on your standpoint. Still, having cash is one thing; doing something with it is another. Como’s progress has been serene and strategic, a gradual accrual of good decisions. Case in point: the 2023 appointment of Cesc Fabregas — also a minority shareholder — as coach, which looked risky at the time but has proven to be a masterstroke. The Spaniard guided them to a 10th-placed finish in their first season back in Italy’s top flight. Last season they leapt up to fourth.
Trevoh Chalobah celebrates Como’s emphatic win against Leipzig (Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
On Thursday, they welcomed RB Leipzig to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia — and showed exactly what they could do in a 4-1 win. It was a demonstration both of their superb recruitment (Nico Paz, Assane Diao, Martin Baturina and Tasos Douvikas were all excellent in attack) and Fabregas’ tactical acumen. Pleasingly, there were also links to the past: executives made seats available to legacy fans and Como were captained by Lucas Da Cunha, a holdout from the team that won promotion from Serie B in 2023-24.
The question now is whether they can build on this win. Juggling domestic and European football will be a challenge; the squad has been reinforced by some opportunistic loan deals but is not the deepest. This, though, is not the moment for realism. Como are dreaming and have every right to do so.
Lake it ’til you make it.
Who can stop Harry Kane?
The most impressive half of football on Thursday night undoubtedly came from Bayern Munich. After being held by Bodo/Glimt in the first opening period in Bavaria, they came out in the second in beast mode, scoring five unanswered goals.
Michael Olise scored the best of them, before later completing the scoring. Alphonso Davies clattered a brilliant drive into the corner. Inevitably, there was also a goal for Harry Kane, who has now scored in his last EIGHT Champions League games, a run that dates back to January.
According to Opta he is one of only four players to score in eight or more consecutive appearances in the competition, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (x2), Robert Lewandowski (x2) and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Kane nods home a perfect free-kick from Olise (Michaela STACHE / AFP via Getty Images)
Viking Stavanger are up next for Bayern, before a gala meeting with Arsenal on October 21.
How much should we read into Man United’s win?
If Michael Carrick had come up with a wish list ahead of Manchester United’s first Champions League game in nearly three years, it probably would have looked something like this: win, rack up a few goals, don’t pick up any injuries, take key players off ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby, hand some bonus minutes to squad players and youngsters. Too much to ask? Apparently not. By the end of a fun, relaxed night at Old Trafford, Carrick’s list carried more ticks than your average polling station.
The fixture list was kind. Sabah, the champions of Azerbaijan, are a good story: tiny stadium, founded less than a decade ago, managed by a guy who once appeared on the Lithuanian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? What they are not, on this evidence of this match, is a team that will trouble the continent’s best. The Thursday-night factor lent this the feel of a low-stakes Europa League group-stage game.
You can only beat what’s in front of you, of course, and United did not slip into complacency. After Matheus Cunha’s well-worked opener, Carrick’s men ran through the gears and scored twice more before half time. Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans ran the midfield like it was bingo night at the local hall. Benjamin Sesko channeled his inner runaway train to add to his early-season tally.
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
The second half was, with all due respect to Sabah, a non-event. Mason Mount did some semi-vigorous running. There were cameos for Shea Lacey and Harry Amass, who look like they could both fit inside a long raincoat and try to secure entry to a nightclub. Lisandro Martinez scored an objectively very funny goal. And that was it, job done, the focus already on City by the time the final whistle blew.
It won’t go down as one of the great Old Trafford nights. But a breezy, easy win is always welcome.
