Tuesday night in the Champions League belonged to the underdogs and the believers. A goal inside the first minute in Madrid, a seven-goal thriller in Milan and a late Stavanger equaliser that will live long in the memory — matchday two had everything a football fan could ask for.
A nightmare trip to Madrid for United
The night’s most watched fixture ended in a 2-0 defeat for Manchester United at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, with Atletico Madrid striking through Pablo Barrios inside the opening minute before Ademola Lookman added a second in the 79th. United’s evening grew worse when defender Leny Yoro was shown a straight red card, leaving them to finish with ten men, according to AFP reporting on the match.
The defeat deepened the pressure on United boss Michael Carrick, whose side continued a poor run that shows no sign of lifting, as France 24’s coverage put it. For Atletico, it was a welcome response after they lost their opening match at Liverpool, and the home crowd — which roared the early goal in — will have left believing their campaign is back on track.
Stavanger’s unforgettable night
But the story of the round came from Norway, where Viking Stavanger held mighty Bayern Munich to a 3-3 draw in scenes of near-disbelief at the Lyse Arena. The home side stunned the Bundesliga giants by storming into a two-goal lead at half-time through Gianni Stensness’s header after just 71 seconds and Peter Christiansen’s calm finish.
Harry Kane looked to have rescued Bayern with a penalty and a header of his own before Luis Diaz’s tap-in seemingly won it — but after Michael Olise was sent off for a second yellow card, substitute Herman Haugen arrived to head in a stunning equaliser in the 90th minute, completing a night the Viking faithful will never forget. It was the kind of home-crowd miracle that defines the league phase format, where a Norwegian club can go toe-to-toe with Europe’s elite and walk away with a point to cherish.
Elsewhere, Arsenal eased past Lille 3-0 with three goals in seven second-half minutes from Timber, Eze and Saka, while Barcelona came from behind to beat Galatasaray 4-1 through Cancelo, Fermin Lopez, Gordon and Adeyemi. Club Brugge claimed the night’s most dramatic result, winning 4-3 at Inter Milan in a seven-goal thriller powered by Nicolò Tresoldi’s hat trick.
For supporters, nights like these are the sport’s greatest argument — the roar when a home rally turns a game on its head is universal, whatever the stage.
ESPN’s full matchday recap of Tuesday’s Champions League action is available here.
