Sheriff Tiraspol win in Madrid focal point of second Champions League matchday

Another busy week of UEFA Champions League matches wrapped up on Wednesday, and featured a pair of major upsets.

The most notable result came in Madrid, as Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol headed to the Spanish capital for a match with Real Madrid, where the winner seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Jasurbek Yakhshiboev gave the minnows a shock lead in the 25th minute, before Karim Benzema equalized for the favourites with a penalty just after the hour mark. The match looked destined for a 1-1 draw as the clock ticked toward the final whistle, but Sébastien Thill scored an 89th minute winner to seal a famous victory for the visitors.

Against all odds, it’s Sheriff who lead group D, as Italian champions Inter Milan were held off the scoresheet in a 0-0 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in the other match in that group.

The other major upset this week came in Lisbon, as Portuguese side Benfica hosted another Spanish giant in FC Barcelona at Estádio da Luz. Darwin Núñez scored twice for the hosts, on either side of Rafa Silva goal, as Benfica upset Barcelona 3-0.

Barcelona lost to Bayern Munich on the opening matchday in this year’s Champions League, and sit at the bottom of Group E with zero points and zero goals scored through two matches.

Some results on the second week of the competition were a little more comprehensive, with Bayern Munich and Zenit St. Petersburg among the teams to win by large margins.

Reigning champions Bayern swept aside Dynamo Kyiv 5-0, while Zenit put four unanswered goals past Malmo. Liverpool also won comprehensively, beating Porto 5-1 in Portugal.

The highest-profile match was in Paris on Tuesday, as French juggernauts Paris Saint-Germain hosted English title-winners Manchester City. Superstar signing Lionel Messi, who was linked to Manchester City over the summer, scored his first goal for the Parisians in the second half, doubling their lead to secure a 2-0 victory.

Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge were also victorious on Tuesday — beating Besiktas, AC Milan, Sporting Lisbon, and RB Leipzig, respectively.

Wednesday also saw several teams pick up three points, as Atalanta, RB Salzburg and Juventus defeated Young Boys, Lille and Chelsea.

It wasn’t a good week for La Liga clubs, as Sevilla drew 1-1 with Wolfsburg on Wednesday, while Villareal were on the receiving end of a 95th minute goal from Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United celebrated a dramatic 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

There are a few weeks off for the international break, before Champions League returns on October 19 and 20 with another slate of games.