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Dejan Lovren scored an impressive goal as Zenit St Petersburg helped kick off the Champions League campaign, and Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Ajax was not enough to top Group D.
The Reds closed the first week of the group stage with a hard-fought but well-deserved victory in Amsterdam as they looked to put a miserable weekend behind them.
An own goal from Nicolás Tagliafico was enough to seal the victory over Ajax, on a night in which Jurgen Klopp started without a large number of his key players and replaced three more in the hour while Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
In the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho was the star man at Liverpool’s rear, helping to end silent claims that the club parted ways with Lovren too soon.
Lovren still managed to make the headlines midweek, and it was for the right reasons, as he scored a brilliant long-range goal for Zenit in their eventual 2-1 loss to Club Brugge.
The Croatian approached a fumble, at 40 yards, advanced and launched a powerful effort that deflected and hit the post, bouncing off the back of goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, replacing Simon Mignolet, and into the back of the net.
Unfortunately for Lovren and Zenit, that draw was not enough to secure a result, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring a goal for Club Brugge in the 93rd minute.
Despite having three goals in that tie, eight of the first week’s 16 group stage matches saw the net flutter more frequently, including a surprise 3-2 win by Shakhtar Donetsk at Real Madrid.
European champions Bayern Munich were one of the most convincing winners of the round, beating Atlético Madrid 4-0, while Barcelona edged Ferencvaros 5-1.
There were other shocks beyond Real’s collapse, with Lazio doing light work with Dortmund for a 3-1 win and Man United notching up a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain, but all went as usual for players. like Man City, Juventus. and Leipzig.
Elsewhere in Liverpool’s group, Atalanta produced a statement win over FC Midtjylland, with a 4-0 win placing them at the top of Group D, on a night that saw four different scorers at the MCH Arena.
Midtjylland are the Reds’ next opponents in the Champions League, and given that the October 27 tie is at Anfield, Klopp will be looking for a full performance from his team against one in his first season in Europe’s top-tier tournament.
Champions League Results, Week 1
Group A
Salzburg 2-2 Lokomotiv Moscow
Bayern Munich 4-0 Atlético de Madrid
B Group
Real Madrid 2-3 Shakhtar
Inter Milan 2-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Group C
Olympiakos 1-0 Marseille
Man City 3-1 Porto
Group D
Ajax 0-1 Liverpool
FC Midtjylland 0-4 Atalanta
Group E
Rennes 1-1 Krasnodar
Chelsea 0-0 Sevilla
Group F
Zenit Saint Petersburg 1-2 Club Brugge
Lazio 3-1 Dortmund
Group G
Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Juventus
Barcelona 5-1 Ferencvaros
Group H
PSG 1-2 Man United
Leipzig 2-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
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