By Kayode John
Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 victory over AC Milan at the BayArena on Tuesday night.
Boniface played his first-ever game in the competiton two weeks ago in his side’s 4-0 win over Feyenoord but he did not get on the scoresheet.
After the first half ended 0-0 on Tuesday night, Boniface netted the only goal of the game in the 51st minute to maintain Leverkusen’s perfect start to the competition this season with two wins in two matches and inflict on Milan their second consecutive defeat in two games in the Champions League.
Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze, who has struggled to nail down a starting spot in the last few weeks, was substituted on in the 79th minute as a replacement for Christian Pulisic.
Chukwueze was left on the bench for 90 minutes in the club’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at the San Siro on matchday 1.
In Germany, Germany forward with Nigerian heritage Karim Adeyemi stole the show at the Signal Iduna Park as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Scottish champions Celtic 7-1.
Adeyemi scored a hat-trick, beating the goalkeeper in the 11th, 29th and 42nd minutes before hobbled off in the second half with an apparent injury.
Emery Can opened the scoring for last season’s finalists from the spot after seven minutes. Serhou Guirassy converted the German side’s second penalty in the 40th minute and also found the target in the 66th minute. Felix Nmecha capped the night with a strike in the 79th minute.
In England, Arsenal continued their flying start to the season with an impressive 2-0 win over French champions Paris Saint-Germain. Kai Havertz, who won the man-of-the-match award, put the Gunners in front in the 20th minute before Bukayo Saka sealed the win 15 minutes later.
In a David vs Goliath fight, Manchester City thumped Slovan Bratislava 4-0 in Slovakia. Ilkay Gundogan put the visitors in front after eight minutes and Phil Foden doubled the lead seven minutes after. Erling Haaland scored the third in the 58th minute and James McAtee capped the impressive win 16 minutes from time.
Inter Milan recorded their first win of the competition this season with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade at home. Hakan Calhanoglu broke the deadlock for his side after 11 minutes. Marko Anarutovic scored Inter’s second in the 59th minute and Lautaro Martinez got his goal in the 71st minute. Mehdi Taremi, who was named the best player of the game, netted the fourth from the spot in the 81st minute.
In Spain, Barcelona thumped Young Boys 5-0, with Robert Lewandowski bagging a brace in the eighth and 51st minutes. Raphinha and Inigo Martinez scored in the 34th and 37th minutes respectively in a dominant first half. A Mohamed Ali Camara own goal sealed the emphatic win for the Catalans.
In the Netherlands, hosts PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw. Jerdy Schouten put the Eredivisie side in the lead after 15 minutes but Daniel Braganca ensured his side picked a point on the road with a strike seven minutes from time.
Stuttgart and Sparta Praha played a 1-1 draw in Germany. Enzo Millot scored the opener for the home side before Kasper Kairinen netted the equaliser in the 32nd minute.
French first-timers Brest recorded the result of the night, beating Salzburg 4-0 in Austria to secure their second win in two matches.
Results
Arsenal 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain
Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys
PSV 1 – Sporting Lisbon
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan
Inter Milan 4-0 Red Star
Borussia Dortmund 7- 1 Celtic
Stuttgart 1- 1 Sparta Prague
Salzburg 0-4 Brest
