Tuesday’s Champions League action delivered and then some, with a number of shocking results reverberating around Europe.
Manchester United fans got a glimpse of what the future might hold as their incoming boss earned a huge upset victory over their bitter rivals, while the champions of the continent were downed on their own patch, giving their iconic manager more than a few headaches to consider.
There are more twists and turns expected for Wednesday, but which players stole the show on the first night of Champions League football this week?
Pep Guardiola must have thought the hype surrounding Ruben Amorim was a load of malarkey given the start Manchester City made in their clash with Portugal.
A Nordic behemoth ended up claiming all the headlines but it was Phil Foden’s industry that initially silenced the crowd at Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Last year’s FWA Footballer of the Year nicked possession and drove towards goal, unleashing a rasping effort that whizzed past Franco Israel without giving the goalkeeper a chance to respond.
It all went downhill after that, but Foden can at least hold his head a little higher than most of his teammates.
Things looked pretty despondent for Celtic after they were thumped 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund. Few gave them much hope of reaching the knockout stages, even after winning their opener 5-1 against Slovan Bratislava.
However, the Scottish giants recovered with a goalless draw with Atalanta and extended RB Leipzig’s woes on Tuesday, running out comfortable 3-1 victors.
It was two goals from Nicolas Kuhn that swung the game in Celtic’s favour, curling in brilliantly before the hosts’ insatiable press allowed the 24-year-old to put them ahead at the start of the second half.
Mohamed Salah didn’t get all the plaudits from Liverpool’s second-half thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if not for the Egyptian’s contributions.
The 32-year-old set up two strikes at Anfield and has now provided at least one goal contribution in each of his last six starts in all competitions.
The Reds continue to rely on Salah, who is still showing he remains his side’s best player despite the uncertainty over his contract situation.
Tijjani Reijnders may well have been licking his lips when it became clear Real Madrid’s confused midfield could be exploited during Milan’s win at the Bernabeu.
The Dutchman’s profile has steadily raised for a few years but he gave his most complete performance yet on Tuesday, running powerfully through the hosts’ central areas and getting his goal, controlling Rafael Leao’s cross and finishing powerfully.
After a brief lull in goalscoring, Luis Diaz covered the scoresheet with his name as Liverpool blew away Leverkusen.
The Colombia international played in a central role and could not be contained by the Bundesliga champions, showing tremendous composure by dinking in his first before completing his hat-trick with two composed finishes late on.
He’s kept from top spot here by another treble hitter, but it’s shaping up to be a career-best season for Diaz.
There was already a lot of excitement around Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres before Tuesday, but his display against City has only made the spotlight on him even brighter.
After missing an early chance, the 26-year-old stayed cool and composed as the Premier League champions gave up chance after chance, clipping in the equaliser before punishing silly mistakes from the penalty spot.
It may only be November but Gyokeres already has 23 goals in all competitions. No wonder so many teams are clamouring for his signature.
