Loud applause for Thomas Tuchel – and a mixed debut for successor Graham Potter: Chelsea missed their first win of the Champions League season when the new team manager made his debut. Despite the lead, the Londoners only managed to draw 1-1 (0-0) against Red Bull Salzburg and are now under pressure after the embarrassing defeat at the start at outsiders Dinamo Zagreb, which resulted in the dismissal of Tuchel.
Things got emotional at Stamford Bridge before Raheem Sterling scored the opening goal (48′). The Chelsea fans rose in the 21st minute and applauded Tuchel – in memory of the very successful year 2021, in which the German team manager had won the Champions League with the Blues, among other things. Noah Okafor (75th) spoiled the game with his late equalizer.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi reached another milestone in his illustrious career. In Paris St. Germain’s 3-1 (1-1) win at underdog Maccabi Haifa, the Argentinian superstar equalized (37th) – and was successful in the premier class for the 18th consecutive season. Messi prepared the goal by Kylian Mbappé (69th). Neymar (88th) also scored.
The German coach Roger Schmidt was able to celebrate the second win in the second game with Benfica Lisbon: At Italy’s record champions Juventus Turin, Lisbon turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 (1-1). Joao Mario (43’/penalty) and David Neres (55′) scored after former Bundesliga striker Arkadiusz Milik (4′) put the hosts ahead early on.
The top Italian club SSC Napoli also recorded their second win in a 3-0 (0-0) win at Glasgow Rangers. Napoli, who had beaten Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool 4-1 at the start, had some trouble with the snappy Scots. Matteo Politano (68th) with a penalty kick, Giacomo Raspadori (85th) and Tanguy Ndombele (90th + 1) scored decisively with a majority. Glasgow’s James Sands (56th) had previously seen yellow-red.