Dinamo Zagreb - Chelsea 1-0
Thomas Tuchel’s 100th game in charge of Chelsea ended in a surprise defeat as Dinamo Zagreb claimed a memorable 1-0 win in their Champions League Group E opener at Stadion Maksimir.
The first real chance came when Raheem Sterling found Kai Havertz and the German, who scored the winner against West Ham United on Saturday, fizzed in a superb cross that just eluded debutant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. However, the first effort on target saw Dinamo take the lead on 13 minutes thanks to a clinical breakaway.
Bruno Petkovic received a Robert Ljubicic pass and deftly nodded it into the path of Mislav Orsic, who trapped the header brilliantly inside his own half and impressively outpaced Wesley Fofana before slipping the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga on the Spaniard’s first competitive appearance since March in the absence of the injured Edouard Mendy.
The goal was Orsic’s 150th club career strike; the forward scored a sensational hat-trick to knock Tottenham Hotspur out of the Europa League two seasons ago and also scored a group-stage winner at West Ham last term in Europe’s second-tier competition. Kepa was then forced to parry a stinging drive from the hosts’ captain Arijan Ademi as Chelsea struggled to impose themselves in the first half.
At the start of the second period, Aubameyang failed to get significant contact on another dangerous Havertz delivery and at the other end, Stefan Ristovski reminded the English giants to be on their guard as his rasper was tipped onto the crossbar by Arrizabalaga.
Havertz had a case for a penalty after being barged by Sutalo, but the protests were dismissed, before Aubameyang was taken off for Armando Broja just shy of the hour mark.
Two inviting Reece James crosses evaded the Albanian and Ante Cacic’s men continued to defend resolutely, with the tireless Ljubičić getting back cleverly to divert Havertz’s close-range effort behind.
Chelsea continued to pile forwards in search of an equaliser, but James hit the base of Dominik Livakovic’s left-hand post and the goalkeeper then made an instinctive stop from Mason Mount as Dinamo survived eight minutes of stoppage time.
The Croatian champions, already eight points clear in the defence of their crown, go to San Siro next Wednesday to face AC Milan, while Tuchel’s men host Red Bull Salzburg later the same day.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Robert Ljubicic (Dinamo Zagreb)
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Borussia Dortmund - FC Copenhagen 3-0
Borussia Dortmund began their record seventh consecutive UCL campaign in convincing fashion, registering a 3-0 win over FC Copenhagen, who are now winless in 11 encounters against German opposition.
Returning to continental action without star marksman Erling Haaland, Dortmund knew only an energetic start would give them better chances of progressing to the next round - something they failed to do last season - especially in a group with Sevilla and Manchester City this time around.
Julian Brandt and Thomas Meunier proved instrumental against the visitors from the very outset, firing away quick attacks in the face of a stern Copenhagen outfit, who themselves were appearing in the UCL group stages for the first time since 2016/17.
The visitors spent most of the half sitting back and absorbing Die Borussen’s advances, but finally gave way to Marco Reus’ masterful attempt on goal in the 35th minute, as he glided past two oncoming defenders and lodged the ball in the bottom-right corner to put the hosts in the driving seat.
Raphael Guerreiro then scored an all-important second from a tap-in minutes before half-time, following some clever one-two play with Giovanni Reyna.
Arguably Copenhagen’s best player in the first period, Lukas Lerager almost halved Dortmund’s lead immediately after restart, fantastically connecting his shot from a corner kick but only to see Alexander Meyer pull off an excellent save from close range.
A slick move by Dortmund minutes later then created an open chance for Brandt from point-blank range, which the German playmaker fluffed well above the crossbar.
As the final-quarter hour dawned, goalscorer Guerreiro came close to scoring a brace for Edin Terzic’s side, but saw his edge-of-the-box shot fly inches wide of the crossbar.
There was only going to be one winner though, and making up for his teammate’s miss, Jude Bellingham capped the win with a tasty finish on the counter, following a failed Copenhagen attack.
Jess Thorup’s outfit succumbed to a 14th winless away match out of their previous 16 in UCL games proper, and given the calibre of the company they are pitched alongside in Group G, they will rue having not taken advantage of their somewhat positive domestic form coming into the clash.
Meanwhile, Dortmund will rate their chances of progression more than ever, following a third straight head-to-head win over the evening’s visitors which proved there is life after Haaland.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)
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