UEFA Champions League

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær said Cristiano Ronaldo had answered many critics of his value to the team with his display in the 3-2 Champions League win over Atalanta on Wednesday.

Ronaldo grabbed the 81st minute winner with a superbly executed header to maintain his 100% scoring record in group F after three games.

But Solskjær took aim at those who had questioned whether the Portuguese forward, the Champions League record goalscorer, contributed enough work-rate to his side.

Chelsea defeated Swedish opposition Malmö in the Champions League on Wednesday 4-0 in the pouring London rain but suffered a pair of injuries as Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner both left the game early. The Lukaku and Werner injuries took place in the first half.

Lukaku was substituted out after his ankle was caught in a challenge by a Malmö defender. Later on, Werner was sprinting for a ball over the top and pulled up grabbing at his hamstring.

It was always going to be Cristiano Ronaldo. With Atalanta’s depleted squad running on fumes at Old Trafford, Harry Maguire’s 75th-minute equalizer set the stage for the inevitable: Cristiano Ronaldo hanging in the air, posterizing José Luis Palomino and directing a downward header inside the post for the win. 

It was Ronaldo’s 300th appearance across all competitions for Manchester United, and he’ll remember it fondly after completing the Red Devils’ improbable second half comeback. 

Bayern Munich has been blowing out competition this season, scoring three or more goals in 11 of 12 matches coming into Wednesday, including eight in two Champions League games. But through 70 minutes on Wednesday, the German giants were scoreless. That is, until the Leroy Sané free kick vs Benfica. 

Sané blasted a marvelous free kick to break the deadlock and open the floodgates as Bayern poured it on late in a 4-0 win on Wednesday at the Estádio da Luz. Sané scored the first and fourth goals after his club had two goals denied by the VAR.

Naby Keïta drilled a scorching volley to put Liverpool up two inside 13 minutes. He followed that up with defense so bad he was given the hook at halftime.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the first half and nearly had more. He followed that up by inadvertently kicked Roberto Firmino in the face and was sent off early in the second half. 

Liverpool blew a two-goal lead before pulling out a 3-2 win over 10-man Atlético Madrid thanks to a Mohamed Salah penalty on Tuesday in thrilling Champions League action in the Spanish capital. 

If European football wasn’t as familiar with American manager Jesse Marsch as it should’ve been, it sure as hell is now. On Tuesday, the RB Leipzig boss masterminded a stirring performance at the Parc des Princes that had the German side deservedly ahead 2-1 with just over 20 minutes to play. 

But a terrible mistake from American midfielder Tyler Adams allowed Lionel Messi to equalize before a rash challenge in the area gifted PSG another from the spot.   

Jesse Marsch’s first season as RB Leipzig manager was always going to be full of growing pains. He had impossibly large shoes to fill in replacing Julian Nagelsmann — who led Leipzig to the 2020 Champions League semifinals, becoming the youngest-ever coach to reach that stage — and Marsch inherited a side in transition with Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer following Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich while Ibrahima Konaté signed with Liverpool.

Arsenal defeated Hoffenheim 4-0 in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday to move up to second-place in Group C. The Gunners’ victory saw the first Tobin Heath Arsenal goal, along with scores from Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Kim Little.

Heath got her first Champions League start with Arsenal. She previously made an appearance as a substitute in Arsenal’s Champions League opener against Barcelona, where Heath picked up an assist.