By Kayode John
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League and registered his first assist in the competition as well, as Atalanta recorded a 3-0 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night.
The Nigeria international provided the assist for the Italian club’s first goal after 21 minutes when the 26-year-old set up Berat Djimsiti.
Lookman put his name on the score sheet to double Atalanta’s lead one minute before half-time and was named man-of-the-match for his performance.
He is the second Nigeria international to score his first goal in the prestigious European club competition in two days, after Victor Boniface netted his maiden goal on Tuesday night to earn Bayer Leverkusen the win against AC Milan.
In France, a first-half penalty by Jonathan David earned Lille a shock 1-0 home victory over holders Real Madrid, ending the 15-times European champions’ 14-game unbeaten run in the competition.
David converted from the spot three minutes into the first-half stoppage time to hand Real Madrid, who had not lost in their previous 36 matches in all competitions, their first defeat since January.
Aston Villa’s super substitute Jhon Duran ensured the Premier League club would record a win in their first home game in the competition in four decades with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich, ending the German side’s 41-match unbeaten in the Champions League group stage or league phase, stretching back seven years.
Pau Torres thought he had given Villa the lead in the 24th minute but his effort was ruled out for an offside. Duran replaced Ollie Watkins in the 70th minute and scored an audacious goal nine minutes later, beating Manuel Neuer who was off his goal line.
In Germany, a 10-man Juventus side produced a stunning comeback to overcome RB Leipzig 3-2 at the Red Bull Arena to make it two wins from two matches in the league phase of the competition.
Xavi Simons sent a lovely curling diagonal through ball to Benjamin Sesko, who brought it down before thumping a left-footed strike off inside of the bar and into the net to give the hosts the lead.
Dusan Vlahovic, who has been criticized this season for lack of goals, equalised in the 50th minute, and nine minutes later, the visitors were reduced to 10 players when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off.
Sesko got his second goal in the 65th minute but Vlahovic again restored parity three minutes later. Francisco Conceicao won the game for the Italian side eight minutes from time.
Liverpool followed up their impressive 3-1 victory at Milan a fortnight ago with a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Anfield. Alexis Mac Allister scored the first goal for the Reds after just 11 minutes and Mohammed Salah netted a beauty to double the Reds’ lead in the 75th minute.
Feyenoord recovered from the 4-0 thrashing at home by Bayer Leverkusen on matchday one to defeat Girona 3-2 in Spain.
In Portugal, Atletico Madrid recorded one of their worst outings in the competition as they were pummeled 4-0 by Benfica at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
Dinamo Zagreb played out a 2-2 draw with French side AS Monaco at home, while Belgian champions Club Brugge recorded a slim 1-0 win over Sturm Graz away from home, with Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika providing the 24th minute assist for the only goal of the encounter by <span;>Christos Tzolis<span;>.
Results
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna
Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge
Dinamo Zagreb 2-2 Monaco
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 Atalanta
Lille 1-0 Real Madrid
RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus
Benfica 4-0 Atletico Madrid
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich
Girona 2-3 Feyenoord
