Champions League Matchday 2: Bale, Ronaldo Bring Down Dortmund; Kane Nets Hat Trick
Matchday 2 of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League kicked off Tuesday, and it boasted quite the set of results.
Real Madrid had never won at Signal Iduna Park in six tries, but it ended that streak by topping Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and a vicious volley from Gareth Bale.
Three Premier League sides were in action as well, with Tottenham riding Harry Kane's hat trick in Cyprus to a 3-0 win over APOEL. Manchester City won, too, with Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling scoring in a 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk. It wasn't as fruitful of a day for Liverpool, which drew at Spartak Moscow 1-1.
Elsewhere, Wissam Ben Yedder's hat trick propelled Sevilla to a 3-0 win over Maribor, Napoli topped Feyenoord 3-1 and Porto impressively won 3-0 in Monaco. Besiktas is on top of Porto and Monaco's group, though, after securing an impressive 2-0 win over RB Leipzig to make it two wins in two games.
Here are highlights from all of the day's action:
STERLING FINISHES OFF SHAKHTAR
Shakhtar Donetsk provided more resistance than Manchester City may have expected, but Raheem Sterling secured all three points in the 90th minute with a key insurance goal.
BEN YEDDER CAPS HIS HAT TRICK
Wissam Ben Yedder became Sevilla's first player ever to score a hat trick in the Champions League, finishing off the feat–and Maribor–with a penalty kick to put the Spanish side up 3-0.
RONALDO SILENCES DORTMUND
Three minutes after Christian Pulisic came on for Dortmund as the hosts' final substitute, Cristiano Ronaldo came up with another fantastic finish to score a massive insurance goal. Dortmund had been threatening for an equalizer, but Ronaldo beat Roman Burki at the near post with a fierce blast from a right-sided angle, making it 3-1 in the 79th minute.
PORTO COUNTER BURIES MONACO
Vincent Aboubakar scored his second of the day for Porto, finishing off a clinical counterattack for the Portuguese power in Monaco.
ALL HARRY KANE DOES IS SCORE
Harry Kane has four multiple-goal games for Tottenham since the turn of the calendar, moving on from his annual August swoon in typical style. Kane's second on Tuesday, a low, slotted effort from the edge of the box, gave Spurs a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute at APOEL.
He completed his hat trick five minutes later, joining Gareth Bale as the only Tottenham player to reach that milestone on Europe's premier stage.
RONALDO DOUBLES REAL MADRID'S LEAD, AUBAMEYANG PULLS IT BACK
Real Madrid was looking mighty fine in Dortmund, where Cristiano Ronaldo extended the lead to 2-0 five minutes into the second half. Gareth Bale was vital again, putting the ball on a platter for Ronaldo in the center of the box, from where Ronaldo doesn't miss very often.
That two-goal advantage was short-lived, though. Gonzalo Castro delivered a pinpoint cross for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the Gabonese striker converted to slice the deficit back to one goal in the 54th minute.
DE BRUYNE BREAKS THROUGH FOR MAN CITY
Manchester City was stifled at the Etihad through the opening half, but minutes into the second half, Kevin De Bruyne changed all that with a long-range blast to break the deadlock and give Man City a 1-0 lead.
City was denied a second in the 72nd minute when Sergio Aguero had a penalty kick saved by Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
MERTENS CAPITALIZES TO EXTEND NAPOLI'S LEAD
Dries Mertens is one of the most in-form players on the planet, and he was at it again for Napoli against Feyenoord, finishing from close range after Napoli pounced on a turnover.
TALISCA MAKES IT TWO FOR BESIKTAS
Anderson Talisca doubled Besiktas's lead over RB Leipzig just before halftime with a perfect redirected header, putting the Turkish side in position to make it two wins in two matches.
KANE MAINTAINS HIS FORM
Harry Kane has been on fire for Tottenham, and he continued his fine form in Cyprus, scoring Tottenham's opener at APOEL in the 39th minute.
PORTO STRIKES IN MONACO
Vincent Aboubakar finished from close range for Porto in Monaco, where the Portuguese side is looking for some road points. It's on its way.
SEVILLA EASING BY MARIBOR
Sevilla isn't expected to have too much trouble with Maribor, and Wissam Ben Yedder tapped in from close range after Joaquin Correa did the heavy lifting, weaving through the Maribor defense to make it 1-0 in the 27th minute.
Ben Yedder struck for his second 11 minutes later, sending Sevilla on its way to the three points.
LIVERPOOL CONCEDES, EQUALIZES
Loris Karius, given starts by Jurgen Klopp in cup play, was unable to stop Fernando's vicious free kick from straightaway, with Spartak Moscow going ahead in the 23rd minute in Russia.
That lead was short-lived, after Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane worked a wonderful combination to pull even eight minutes later.
BALE STUNNER PUTS REAL MADRID AHEAD
Minutes after Sergio Ramos appeared to get away with a handball on the goal line while clearing a ball to safety, Gareth Bale put Real Madrid in front in sensational fashion. Dani Carvajal picked out Bale on the left, and his first-time, left-footed volley was hit to perfection, leaving Roman Burki with no chance. The 18th-minute strike gave Real Madrid a 1-0 lead.
BABEL MAKES IT TWO IN TWO
Ryan Babel is your early (provisional) leader in the Golden Boot race! Seriously. The veteran Besiktas forward has a goal in a second straight game, tying him with the likes of Lionel Messi and Edinson Cavani and giving the Turkish side a 1-0 lead over RB Leipzig.
NAPOLI GETS STARTED EARLY
Napoli was shocked by Shakhtar Donetsk on Matchday 1 but it got started on the right foot vs. Feyenoord through Lorenzo Insigne, who dedicated his goal to injured teammate Arkadiusz Milik.
A POINTED TIFO
Spartak Moscow fans aren't leaving a whole lot of in-between area for their team:
Yikes.
Here are the lineups for the day's action, with Christian Pulisic beginning the day on the bench for Dortmund vs. Real Madrid.
DORTMUND vs. REAL MADRID
BESIKTAS vs. RB LEIPZIG
SPARTAK MOSCOW vs. LIVERPOOL
MANCHESTER CITY vs. SHAKHTAR DONETSK
MONACO vs. PORTO
SEVILLA vs. MARIBOR
NAPOLI vs. FEYENOORD
APOEL vs. TOTTENHAM
Matchday 2 concludes on Wednesday, with PSG-Bayern Munich headlining a slate that also includes Barcelona traveling to Sporting CP, Atletico Madrid hosting Chelsea, Manchester United visiting CSKA Moscow and Juventus taking on Olympiakos.
