Ronaldo sent off but 10-man Juventus ease past Valencia
VALENCIA: Juventus believe they can win the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo, but they had to start by beating Valencia without him after he was controversially sent off on his debut in the competition for the Italian champions on Wednesday. A tearful Ronaldo left the pitch in disbelief in the 29th minute, having aimed a petulant, but seemingly harmless, kick at Valencia defender Jeison Murillo. The Portuguese player then made contact with Murillo’s head while urging him to get up. Ronaldo dropped to the floor like the tournament was lost after German official Felix Brych brandished the red card but Juve showed more composure, Miralem Pjanic scoring twice from the penalty spot to clinch a comfortable 2-0 win. (AFP)
Pogba propels Man United to victory against Young Boys
BERN: Paul Pogba’s brilliant opening goal was the catalyst as Manchester United overcame a difficult start to beat Young Boys 3-0 in Bern in their opening Champions League game on Wednesday. Skipper Pogba struck to cut down the Swiss champions in their prime before he then doubled United’s lead from a penalty just before the break. The France star also set up the third goal for compatriot Anthony Martial in the second half, as Jose Mourinho’s side safely negotiated this fixture on the synthetic surface at the Stade de Suisse. “I can understand the reasons why we didn’t start the game very well, why we took 20 to 25 minutes to be in control,” said Mourinho. (AFP)
Man City lose 2-1 to Lyon
MANCHESTER: Manchester City assistant manager Mikel Arteta admitted the English champions were handed a wake-up call in a shock 2-1 home defeat by Lyon to start their Champions League campaign on Wednesday. Arteta took charge for the evening with Pep Guardiola serving a touchline ban for being sent-off in last season’s quarter-final exit to Liverpool. And Guardiola could only watch on in horror as Lyon punished a sloppy first 45 minutes from the pre-tournament favourites through Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir. Bernardo Silva pulled a goal back in an improved second-half performance, but couldn’t prevent City slumping to their first defeat of the season. (AFP)
Leno to make Arsenal debut
LONDON: Bernd Leno has been challenged to make the Arsenal goalkeeper’s jersey his own after Unai Emery confirmed the German will make his debut against Vorskla Poltava on Thursday. Leno is yet to feature for Arsenal since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in the close-season. Petr Cech has played every minute in goal under new Arsenal manager Emery so far. But former Chelsea star Cech has not been without critics as he has struggled to adapt to Emery’s demands. (AFP)