By Kayode John
Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika was sent off in Club Brugge’s 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday night, in the same match Samuel Chukwueze shone.
Onyedika was issued a straight red card in the 40th minute after a pitchside Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review showed that he clearly caught Tijjani Reijnders on the ankle in a reckless challenge.
The 23-year-old Nigeria international was initially shown a yellow card but the referee later upgraded the booking to a red card, making it his second dismissal of the season.
Six minutes before Onyedika was sent off, Christian Pulisic had put Milan ahead. Kyriani Sabbe equalised for Club Brugge in the 51st minute but a brace from Reinders sealed the win for the Italian side.
Chukwueze replaced Rafael Leao in the 60th minute and followed up his match-wining goal against Udinese in Serie A last weekend with an assist for Milan’s third goal in the 71st minute.
In Madrid, Vinicius Junior netted a hat-trick as Real Madrid stunned Borussia Dortmund scoring five goals in the second half to come from two down and win 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In a repeat of the 2023/2024 final, the defending champions were in trouble at the break after Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens put Dortmund two goals up.
Two goals in two minutes, just after the hour mark, from Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius drew Madrid level, and Lucas Vazquez completed the comeback in the 83rd minute. Two outstanding late goals from Vinicius to complete his hat-trick made the game completely safe for the Los Blancos.
Arsenal bounced back from their defeat against Bournemouth in the English Premier League last weekend by securing a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates Stadium.
Leandro Trossard missed a penalty with 14 minutes left, and David Raya also pulled off a fine save in stoppage time, while Arsenal’s evening was soured by a second-half Riccardo Calafiori injury. But they secured the win through Dmytro Riznyk’s own goal in the 29th minute of the game.
Juventus suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Stuttgart on the night for their first defeat under Thiago Motta. Danilo was sent off and Mattia Perin saved a penalty to keep them level in the game but El Billa Toure’s goal gave the visitors a deserved victory.
Paris Saint-Germain paid for missed chances in their 1-1 draw with PSV at the Parc des Princes. Ousmane Dembele missed a couple of chances that could have buried the game for his team. Asraf Hakimi levelled for the hosts in the 55th minute after Noa Lang had put the visitors in the lead in the 34th minute.
Monaco recorded the biggest win of the night as they thrashed Crvena zvezda 5-1. Former Liverpool player Takumi Minamino scored a brace, while goals from Breel Embolo, Wilfried Singo and Maghnes Akliouche secured the win for the French side.
Aston Villa continued their impressive run in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Villa Park, with John McGinn and Jhon Duran netting as they made it three wins in three matches.
Sporting Lisbon defeated Sturm Graz 2-0 away from home, and Girona recorded the same score line against Slovan Bratislava in Spain.
Results
AC Milan 3-1 Club Brugge
AS Monaco 5-1 Crvena Zvezda
Arsenal 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna
Girona 2-0 Slovan Bratislava
Juventus 0-1 VfB Stuttgart
Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund
Sturm Graz 0-2 Sporting CP
