The UEFA Champions League is back, and if you by chance missed the match-day one games, then you surely missed some thrilling football. Europe’s flagship competition always brings fascinating scenes, as fans around the world brace themselves for months of exciting football.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, it was no different as the Champions League gave us all drama, emotion and fanciful moments. The biggest story was the red card handed to Cristiano Ronaldo during his first outing for Juventus in the Champions League.
However, there were also other talking points, including some shocking results as well. While clubs like Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus recorded routine wins, the situation was the exact opposite for the likes of Manchester City who suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Lyon.
But in all, there were some outstanding players who really deserve a mention for their outputs in Tuesday and Wednesday’s fixtures.
Manchester United started their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 mulling of Swiss champions Young Boys on Wednesday night. But at the heart of that victory was midfielder Paul Pogba. The France international was almost unplayable throughout the 90 minutes.
Pogba ticked all the right boxes and dragged his teammates along with a man-of-the-match performance in the middle of the park. The 26-year old was also involved in all three of Man United’s goals, as he scored twice and set up Anthony Martial for Man United’s third goal.
The Frenchman first pounced on a loose ball and fired a left footed shot into the top corner, before expertly converting a penalty after Luke Shaw’s cross was adjudged to have hit the hand of a Young Boys defender.
The midfielder also recovered 11 balls and had an impressive passing rate of 92.6 percent against the Swiss side, according to stats collated by Opta. It was an overall masterclass from Pogba, and that makes him one of the best players after match-day one.