It was a good evening for both Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos, both of whom featured in their side’s respective wins on Champions League matchday 3. However, the route to victory was quite different for the two players. Juventus struggled to a 1-0 triumph away to Olympique Lyonnais, while Real Madrid confidently strode to a 5-1 home win over Legia Warsaw. The win allowed Juve to hold their place at the top of Group H, as Sevilla also claimed a win in their match with Dinamo Zagreb.
Russian champions CSKA Moscow drew 1-1 with AS Monaco to keep their hopes of making the last 16 alive. After Bayer Leverkusen and Spurs played out a 0-0 draw, the result left them three points behind the leaders in Group E. Monaco sit top with five points.
Premier League champions Leicester City continued their strong start to Champions League life, earning a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen through Riyad Mahrez’s 40th minute strike. Elsewhere in that group, FC Bruges lost out to FC Porto late on, as Valente Silva converted a 92nd minute penalty after equalising in the 68th, following the Belgians’ going ahead in the 12th minute.
Juve battle to tough win, Real stroll to victory
Khedira returned to the Juventus starting line-up after being named on the bench for Saturday’s match against Udinese. Gianluigi Buffon impressed for the Italian champions, saving a penalty from Alexandre Lacazette in the 35th minute. Mario Lemina was dismissed in the 54th minute, reducing the away side to 10 men for the final stages of the game. However, the Turin side held strong despite their numerical deficit, and Juan Cuadrado scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the 76th minute.
Samir Nasri’s 37th minute finish was enough to see Europa League winners Sevilla past the threat of Dinamo Zagreb. Juventus remain at the head of the group, even though both sides are level on points with seven. Lyon sit in third, four points behind the two leading clubs.
Real Madrid took an early lead through Gareth Bale after 16 minutes, which was doubled just four minutes later by Tomasz Jodlowiec’s own goal. Legia got themselves back into things just two minutes after that with Miroslav Radovic’s penalty, but goals from Marco Asesnsio in the 37th minute, Lucas in the 68th and Alvaro Morata in the 84th saw Real to a 5-1 victory. They sit level on points with Borussia Dortmund, who are currently two points ahead of them on goal difference.
