The most interesting and beautiful club football tournament is back. Matchday 3 was as interesting as we expected. Paulo Dybala inspired Juventus to a second win while CSKA Moskva held on to beat Real Madrid and Ajax drew at Bayern.
Here are the most interesting facts about Champions League 2018/19 Matchday 3.
Group E
Bayern München 1-1 Ajax
Mats Hummels gave Bayern a fourth-minute lead, heading in Arjen Robben's cross, before Noussair Mazraoui levelled midway through the first half after a one-two with Dušan Tadić. Ajax threatened a second goal but ultimately both teams moved on to four points.
Pre: Ajax conceded their second quickest ever Champions League goal and the earliest since September 27 2005, when Freddie Ljungberg netted for Arsenal in the 2nd minute (1:19).
AEK Athens 2-3 Benfica
Substitute Alfa Semedo scored with 16 minutes left to earn Benfica victory after they had seen a 2-0 lead disappear. Benfica looked comfortable after Haris Seferović and Alex Grimaldo struck inside the first 15 minutes. But Rúben Dias was sent off before half-time, and goals from Viktor Klonaridis on 53 and 63 minutes then drew AEK level.
Group F
Hoffenheim 1-2 Manchester City
David Silva scored with three minutes left to get City off the mark, at the end of a game where Hoffenheim had been celebrating just 44 seconds into their first-ever UEFA Champions League home match thanks to Ishak Belfodil's goal. Sergio Agüero equalised seven minutes later.
Pre: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola met Hoffenheim six times whilst manager of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga; he won five and lost none of those meetings (D1), scoring 2+ goals on each occasion.
Ishak Belfodil's goal after 44 seconds is the quickest scored against an English team in the Champions League since Stephan El Shaarawy vs Chelsea in October 2017 (39 seconds).
Sergio Aguero is just the second player to score in five consecutive away Champions League appearances for an English team, after Ruud van Nistelrooy for Man Utd in 2003.
Five of David Silva's six Champions League goals for Manchester City have come against German opposition.
Lyon 2-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar came from behind for a 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim a fortnight ago, but this time it was they that were denied. Júnior Moraes netted for the visitors just before half-time and added another early in the second period; however, Moussa Dembélé and Léo Dubois struck in a three-minute spell to give Lyon a point that keeps them top.
Group G
CSKA Moskva 1-0 Real Madrid
Nikola Vlašić's second-minute strike proved enough to secure CSKA an impressive win despite both Casemiro and Karim Benzema hitting the post for the holders and Igor Akinfeev receiving an added-time red card. CSKA now lead the group, a point ahead of Roma and Madrid.
Nikola Vlasic’s goal after 65 seconds is the fastest Real Madrid have conceded in the Champions League since March 2007 (Roy Makaay, 10 seconds).
Roma 5-0 Viktoria Plzeň
Roma recovered from their opening-day defeat by Madrid in some style as an Edin Džeko hat-trick guaranteed they surged to victory. Cengiz Ünder and Justin Kluivert also got in on the scoring act.
Pre: Justin Kluivert will become the second youngest Dutch player to start a Champions League game for a foreign team, after Jeffrey Bruma (19y 10d in 2010, for Chelsea).
Group H
Juventus 3-0 Young Boys
Paulo Dybala ensured Juve did not miss the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo as the Argentinian's hat-trick led the Bianconeri to their second win in the section. YB's Mohamed Ali Camara was sent off and they remain point-less on their group-stage debut.
Manchester United 0-0 Valencia
Both teams had chances, with Marcus Rashford hitting the bar late on, yet there were no goals. Valencia, therefore, opened their account following their opening loss to Juventus, who now lead United by two points.
Pre: Manchester United have not lost back-to-back home Champions League games since March 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.
Jose Mourinho has gone four consecutive home games in all competitions without a win for the first time in his managerial career.
