Manchester United, Bayern and Como Win in Champions League Action

Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Como all enjoyed victory in Champions League action on Wednesday, with the Italian side marking their first ever appearance in the competition with an impressive win over RB Leipzig.

Manchester United, with Youri Tielemans and Senne Lammens in the starting line-up, handled Sabah Baku with composure. The Red Devils dominated the Azerbaijani side and built their victory patiently. Matheus Cunha opened the scoring in the 27th minute before Bruno Fernandes, superbly set up by Tielemans, doubled the lead in the 43rd minute. Benjamin Sesko made it 3-0 just before half-time in the 45th minute, and Lisandro Martinez added a fourth in the 68th minute after defensive mistakes from Sabah. The captain of the Devils was replaced at half-time.

Bayern turn up the pressure after the interval

Bayern Munich had to work harder against one of the surprise sides of the previous edition. Well organised and compact, Bodo/Glimt resisted for a long spell, with Nikita Haikin and his post denying Joshua Kimmich twice, in the 35th and 43rd minutes, while Jamal Musiala was also kept out in the 40th minute. The Russian goalkeeper had to come off at half-time.

Vincent Kompany’s team persisted, and their 13th shot proved to be the decisive one. Musiala started the move, and at the hour mark Harry Kane headed in a Michael Olise free-kick in the 61st minute. Alphonso Davies added a third in the 77th minute before Olise completed the scoring with goals in the 83rd minute and in stoppage time, two minutes into added time.

Behind those two Champions League regulars, Como made a highly promising debut in Europe’s top competition. Cesc Fabregas’s side did not waste their joyful first night, earning a clear 3-1 win over RB Leipzig. Martin Baturina struck in the 15th minute, Anastasios Douvikas scored in the 38th, Assane Diao added a third in the 54th and Maximo Perrone rounded things off in the 90th minute plus one. Maarten Vandevoordt, who started in goal for Leipzig, could only watch the damage unfold, while Andrija Maksimovic scored a late consolation for the Germans.

In the final match of the evening, Lens came from behind to beat Slavia Prague. Reduced to ten men for almost the entire second half after the dismissal of Mikulas Konecny, just three minutes after he had come on, the Czechs twice led through Danijel Sturm’s brace in the 51st and 88th minutes, but still lost. Abdallah Sima had earlier equalised, before Florian Thauvin and Ruben Aguilar struck in stoppage time to seal a 3-2 victory for Lens.