The UEFA Champions League Match-Day two produced loads of goals and magical moments that left fans craving for more across Europe.
However, there were standout performers that made jugs drop in awe of what they masterminded on the pitch. Their technical brilliance were evident from every move and inspired their various teams to glory.
Lionel Messi
The Argentine maestro was a torn in the flesh of Tottenham Hotspur players as he ensured that they all had a miserable day against the Catalans.
Messi manipulated play to his advantage and made blind runs that eluded Spurs defenders everytime. Mauricio Pochettino’s men would’ve felt a huge respite after he hit the post twice with the same shot, same bend and same angle.
If a fan had watched those moment separately, it could’ve felt like a repeat on TV of the first shot – that’s how masterful Messi was on the night against a helpless Spurs team.
The North London team missed the calm influence of Danish star, Christian Eriksen and Moussa Dembele while Dele Alli also missed the fixture due to injury but it was no excuse for the genius of Messi to flourish.
Messi had the audacity to hit the post twice and later score twice to inspire a 4-2 victory inside the prestigious Wembley.
“He’s a fantastic player. The most important [thing] is Messi shows in every game why he is Messi,” Tottenham boss, Pochettino said after the encounter.
“His average performance is this type of game. He’s always above everything.”
His teammate, Philippe Coutinho said it is an honour to play beside Messi. Obviously, he is the dream teammate.
“Everything Messi does on the field is unpredictable,” said the Brazilian.
“To play with him is an honour. He’s always doing something new.”
Neymar
It was the Neymar show in France as he powered Paris Saint German to a comprehensive 6-1 rout of FK Crvena Zvezda.
The away side were made to look like tourist by PSG as they ran rings around them with Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Mbappe and Angel di Maria the chief tormentors.
However, it was the Brazilian Neymar that really light up the night with some brilliant freekick exhibition which sent the fans into wide frenzy.
The Olympic goal medalist scored two freekicks and was substituted to a rousing ovation after he completed his hat-trick. Neymar will be hoping to help PSG win the UEFA Champions League this season and perhaps give himself a chance of winning the Ballon D’Or.
Mauro Icardi
It was a huge surprise when Icardi was named Captain of Inter Milan considering his past deeds but he has so far led the team by example.
On the opening night of the UCL when they meet Tottenham Hotspur – the English team were ranked favourites but the Argentine helped rewrite that script by scoring a superb volley after his side had been second best for much of the game to win it 2-1.
At PSV, the home side took the lead via Pablo Rosario but it was cancelled out by an Radja Nainggolan’s effort but when it looked like both sides will settle for a draw, Icardi pops out and scored the winner. He continues to show mental strength and it may not be long before the likes of Real Madrid lure him away from the Sansiro.
Antoine Griezmann
World Cup winner, Antoine Griezmann entered the UEFA Champions League record books when he scored the competitions 8,000th goal in the win over Club Brugge.
He was at the heart of every good attacking display of his side and capped his night with a brace in front of home fans the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano before Spanish international Koke sealed the win with a late finish.
Jadon Sancho
The last time AS Monaco visited Germany, a new kid in Mbappe was born and the same seem to be the case for Dortmund as they unleashed English youngster Jadon Sancho to the world.
Interestingly, the 18-year-old is already a World Cup winner as he was part of the England U-17 team that won the World Cup in 2017 but did not complete the matches as Dortmund requested for him to return to their squad. That’s how much he is valued.
Dortmund Captain, Marco Reus couldn’t speak highly enough of Sancho, when he said: “The opposition know we have a real weapon in action as soon as Jadon enters. We are glad we have such an ace up our sleeve. We are glad we have such an ace up our sleeve.”
Before the match against Monaco, Sancho had the best assists-per-minute ratio in Europe since heading to Germany in September 2017.
His five assists in just 124 minutes is more assists than any other player in Europe including Lionel Messi. And in the 3-0 win over AS Monaco, Sancho got an assist for the first Dortmund goal.