A second half goal from Victor Boniface was enough to earn Bayer Leverkusen a 1-0 home win over Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, giving the German side a perfect start to their campaign while the Italians are still without a point.
The only goal came six minutes after the break when Boniface fired home a rebound after Mike Maignan had parried a shot from Jeremie Frimpong.
It was no more than the home side deserved after an opening half in which they had the majority of possession and chances but could not find a way past Maignan, while Milan struggled to get a foothold in the game. The goal spurred the visitors into action and they threatened to find an equaliser as they pinned Leverkusen back for long periods of the second half, but they fell to their second defeat in the opening two games of the competition.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice to set Barcelona on course for a 5-0 thrashing of Swiss side Young Boys as the Catalan giants bounced back from a 2-1 loss at AS Monaco in their opener.
Lewandowski gave the hosts the lead in the eighth minute by tapping in a low Raphinha cross after a fine combination between the Brazilian forward and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. After squandering some decent chances, a quickfire double from Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez gave Barcelona a 3-0 lead, with the Brazilian netting a rebound in the 34th minute and defender Martínez scoring with a towering header less than three minutes later.
Lewandowski got his second and Barça’s fourth in the 51st minute with a header in the six-yard box from a Martínez corner, before defender Mohamed Camara bundled the ball into his own net in the 81st minute trying to clear an Alejandro Balde cross.
Inter’s Mehdi Taremi scored his first goal for his new club and provided two assists to help them secure a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League clash at San Siro.
Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring with a superb first-half free kick, before Taremi’s tenacity set up further goals for Marko Arnautovic and Lautaro Martínez as the Iran forward fed off errors in defence from the visitors.
The 32-year-old Taremi, who joined as a free agent in July after leaving Porto, then converted a penalty late on to seal a superb night as Inter added to the point they earned in their Champions League opener at Manchester City.
Abdallah Sima scored twice as Brest won 4-0 at RB Salzburg, giving them a perfect start to their first ever European campaign, with both their victories coming against Austrian sides.
Brest won 2-1 at home against Sturm Graz in their opening Champions League game, and the French side put on a clinical counterattacking performance which paid off against a Salzburg side unable to find a way through despite creating plenty of chances.
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Brest had one shot on target in the opening half, and it was all they required to take the lead. The visitors cleared their lines from a Salzburg attack and Ludovic Ajorque’s pass found Sima who held off his marker to slip his shot past the keeper.
Salzburg had spurned chances in the opening half with Amar Dedic and Karim Konaté both shooting wide early on and in the second half they were completely opened up by the visitors.
A long clearance from the keeper in the 66th minute ended with Mahdi Camara doubling the lead with a superb strike after Salzburg failed to clear the ball and four minutes later Sima pounced on a rebound for his second.
The home side lost any fighting spirit that was left as Brest scored their fourth with 15 minutes remaining when Mathias Pereira Lage struck from outside the area to complete the rout and leave Salzburg on zero points after two games.
Stuttgart were held to a 1-1 home draw by Czech champions Sparta Prague in the other early game on Tuesday after Sparta midfielder Kaan Kairinen cancelled out an early opener by Enzo Millot.
Source: theguardian.com
