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Bayern Munich holders continued their perfect start to the Champions League title defense on Tuesday, while Real Madrid had to thank Casemiro’s late goal for a 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Liverpool and Manchester City have also scored six out of six possible points in Europe this season after Bayern needed a Joshua Kimmich goal to win 2-1 at Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A.
Leon Goretzka led the Germans early in front of a limited crowd in the Russian capital, but Anton Miranchuk scored a draw for Lokomotiv in the second half: Miranchuk’s twin brother Aleksei scored for the Atalanta in the Champions League last week.
But Bayern were not denied a thirteenth consecutive win in the competition, as Kimmich controlled a Javi Martinez pass and shot low from outside the box with 11 minutes remaining.
“We had to work hard for the win,” Kimmich admitted to broadcaster DAZN.
In the same group Atletico Madrid came from behind and beat Salzburg 3-2, with Joao Felix grabbing their late winner.
The Portuguese star hit the crossbar with an incredible head kick before Marcos Llorente took Atletico forward in the Spanish capital.
Dominik Szoboszlai equalized before half-time and then an own goal from Felipe put Salzburg ahead immediately after half-time.
However, Joao Felix equalized in the 52nd minute and then won with five minutes to go.
– City cruise –
In Germany, Madrid were facing another Group B defeat six days after losing 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, when Marcus Thuram scored two goals for Gladbach, on both sides of the interval.
But Casemiro set Karim Benzema to cut the deficit in the 87th minute and the Brazilian midfielder then scored in injury time to save a point for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
“If we continue to play this way, we will do great things and win games, that’s for sure,” said Zidane.
However, Shakhtar leads the group, two points behind Inter and Gladbach, after the 0-0 against the Italians in Kiev.
Pep Guardiola’s City secured their second consecutive Group C win with Kevin De Bruyne fielding Ferran Torres for the first game against Marseille after the hosts had carelessly relinquished possession.
Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling added 3-0 late goals, leaving Marseille without a point.
Guardiola was confident City could build on their win after an indifferent start to the Premier League season that saw them get criticized.
“Some of the criticism was right, but you have to accept it. It’s part of our job,” Guardiola told BT Sport.
“It’s about where we’ve come from in the last month, with lack of preparation, injuries and Covid-19, but the Champions League is now in place.”
In the same group Porto beat Olympiakos 2-0 in Portugal with Fabio Vieira and Sergio Oliveira on goal.
– ‘Hard night’ for Liverpool –
Meanwhile, Liverpool built their 1-0 win at Ajax last week by defeating Danish champions Midtjylland 2-0 in a closed-door match at Anfield in Group D.
Diogo Jota finished a fine move by putting Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead at the start of the second half, before Mohamed Salah secured the points with a late penalty.
Klopp gave Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino rest from his early lineup, but his defensive concerns deepened when Fabinho walked away with an apparent hamstring injury.
“It was a tough night,” Klopp told BT Sport.
“It’s a bit like in a wedding, there are good times and bad times. It’s not a bad time but it’s a difficult time.”
He added: “It was a tough game to play. But winning 2-0 is fine, so that’s it – let’s move on.”
Liverpool now have a double header against Atalanta, who had gone 2-0 and drew 2-2 at home to Ajax.
A penalty by Dusan Tadic puts the guests ahead in the half hour and Lassina Traore scores twice, only Duvan Zapata saves Atalanta with a brace within seven minutes of the second half.
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