Champions League on a Thursday? It will take a while to get used to but the revamped version of Europe’s elite competition served up more intrigue on night three.
It was the only match day without a tie featuring two European heavyweights but there was still drama: Arsenal were held by Atalanta, Xabi Alonso’s Bayern Leverkusen comfortably made the step up from Europa League, two sought-after strikers produced memorable moments, a Champions League debutant got off to a winning start and an American sporting icon was in attendance to see a future great.
Here, The Athletic delves into the best stories in more detail.
Yamal x Jordan = starpower
The talk before Monaco hosted Barcelona had been about the visitors’ 17-year-old Lamine Yamal and whether he is now in the conversation as the greatest of all time when it comes to teenage footballing stars.
Yamal, of course, recently lit up the European Championship with Spain, scoring one of the goals of the tournament and helping his country win the title.
If Yamal was in need of advice about how to cope with his new-found fame, there was a man at the Stade Louis II able to offer some — NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Monaco hardly needs any more glamour with its mega yachts and glitzy casinos, but the presence of Jordan — sitting behind a red velvet rope in the corporate seating — certainly added another layer to the occasion.
Michael Jordan was in attendance to see Lamine Yamal light up Monaco (Chris Ricco – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Discounting the possibility that Jordan was there to watch man wearing his famous No 23 shirt, Barcelona’s Jules Kounde, he did get to witness why Yamal is already football royalty.
The winger got his team back level with a superb solo goal after his team-mate Eric Garcia had been sent off inside 10 minutes.
Everyone knows that he wants to cut inside onto his left foot but stopping him is a different matter. He dribbled inside and reversed a clever finish into the near-side bottom corner, a flash of brilliance that went some way to highlighting the gulf between he and some of his teammates.
Lamine Yamal scored a brilliant goal in a losing cause (Chris Ricco – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
It won’t have been lost on Nike executives that as the camera cut to Jordan for his reaction — one of the brand’s foremost faces since signing his first deal in 1984 and still wearing his iconic Jumpman cap — Yamal was wearing Adidas boots, having switched brands earlier this year.
Even though Barcelona ultimately lost 2-1, it still felt like another night when Yamal underlined his claim to be the superstar of this generation.
How did Raya make that save?
The second half was just two minutes old between Atalanta and Arsenal when Thomas Partey tripped Ederson to concede a penalty.
The VAR review of the footage dragged on, but Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made good use of the delay. He sprinted over to the halfway line to receive instructions from goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana. Exactly which algorithms were shared is a mystery that was hidden behind their hands, but whatever was said worked.
David Raya receives instructions from Arsenal goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Mateo Retegui stepped up with his body closed, which telegraphed that he was placing the ball to his left. Raya read it early but in committing so fully he actually dived past the ball and palmed it back into the path of the Italian striker.
It looked like a certain goal as it bounced kindly for him to head into an empty net, but Raya was not prepared to give up. Calling upon two decades of muscle memory, he sprung back to his feet with barely any use of his hands for leverage and scrambled across his goal, scooping the ball out from behind him with his left hand. Replays showed he had kept just under half of the ball from crossing the line.
UK readers watch here:
DAVID RAYA, TAKE A BOW!
One of the best double saves you’ll ever see 🤯
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sPgZF293QI
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 19, 2024
U.S. readers watch here:
DAVID RAYA WITH A STUNNING DOUBLE SAVE 🧱 pic.twitter.com/O6xGhOpS7F
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2024
It was very similar to the double-save he made against Aston Villa, which won him the Premier League save of the month for August.
Goalkeepers practice making a save before immediately bouncing to their feet for a follow-up shot hundreds of times a week, but the core strength required to make up that ground in a top level game is remarkable.
It is testament to Raya’s character. Ten years ago he was playing for Southport in a 3-0 loss to Macclesfield in the fifth tier of English football. Now he is Arsenal’s undisputed No 1, having helped the club reach the Champions League quarter-finals last season with his saves in the penalty shootout against Porto.
In Bergamo he added another memorable moment to a growing collection.
Boniface’s ‘no-look’ genius
It is widely known as the Thierry Henry fake-shot pass — in honour of the French World Cup winner — but Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface may have to trademark it as his own after his pre-assist against Feyenoord.
In the 30th minute the Nigerian received the ball with Thomas Beelen right on his toes. He somehow managed to ricochet it through his legs…
… and, when David Hancko lunged towards him, he managed to nutmeg him, too, with a drag back
If there was an element of luck involved in that part, it was pure skill from that moment on.
With several players closing him down at the edge of the box, Boniface wound back his right leg as if readying a bullet strike.
But rather than plant his left leg to shoot, he used it to play the ball wide to his team-mate Jeremie Frimpong on his outside…
… all while swiping the air with his right foot.
Not once did he look away from goal and that is what made the disguise so effective. Feyenoord’s defenders bought the dummy and it opened up space for Jeremie Frimpong to play the ball across goal for Alex Grimaldo to make it 2-0.
This is not a one-off for Boniface, who scored 21 goals in his first season at Leverkusen last season on the way to a domestic double. It is a skill he developed years ago in Nigeria Lagos when he played for the Lagos club Real Sapphire on dusty, often uneven pitches.
Street football is very much alive in one of the youngest places on earth. The density of talent in the Nigerian capital is helping produce this kind of imagination but Bonfiace’s imposing stature makes him a rare blend of both physique and finesse.
Sesko takes 11 seconds to show why he’s a wanted man
When the clock showed 3mins 44secs at Atletico Madrid, Benjamin Sesko was 30 yards from his own goal with a swarm of home players closing in to prevent him launching an RB Leipzig counter attack.
At 3mins 50secs, Benjamin Sesko was 30 yards from the Madrid goal, having left three defenders checking they weren’t wearing slippers.
After doing his best Usain Bolt impression the Slovenian striker smartly poked the ball to Lois Openda. Then, when Jan Oblak dived to his right to palm Openda’s shot into the sky, Sesko summoned the energy to soar into the air and head home the rebound.
Benjamin Sesko nods in against Atletico Madrid (Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
It was 11 seconds which showcased why he is on the lists of the biggest clubs across Europe.
His height and aerial ability means he can function as the focal point of the attack, while his pace means he can stretch the game in behind. It is a unique profile and why Arsenal were interested in a summer move before he chose to stay in Germany, signing a new long-term contract.
Brest prove there is room for romance
There are skeptics of the new Champions League format but it is offering clubs who are usually the whipping boys of a four-team group stage the chance of glory, even just for a night.
Take Brest, a club formed as a regional side in Brittany in 1950, went bankrupt in 1991. It took them until 2010 to return to Ligue 1 but it is only since 2019 that they have consolidated their position in the top division.
Few could have expected an entry into the European spots but Eric Roy’s appointment in January 2023 took them to third place last season and an unexpected ticket into the Champions League.
Brest salute their fans (Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images)
This was their first match in European football, let alone the Champions League. Their opponents Sturm Graz were competing in the competition for the first time since 2000 but Brighton loanee Abdallah Sima scored a terrific winner.
It wasn’t the most glamorous tie of the week but there is something refreshing about the league table not being completely dominated by the usual suspects — not yet anyway.
Thursday’s results
- Feyenoord 0 Bayer Leverkusen 4
- Red Star Belgrade 1 Benfica 2
- Atalanta 0 Arsenal 0
- Atletico Madrid 2 RB Leipzig 1
- Brest 2 Sturm Graz 1
- Monaco 2 Barcelona 1
(Top photos: Yamine Lamal and Michael Jordan; Getty Images)
