The UEFA Champions League kicked off its tournament this week with shocking upsets of Liverpool and Chelsea.
Serie A table leaders Napoli proved themselves a force to be reckoned with, blowing out The Reds in Italy.
USMNT stars Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie got their squads on the scorecard while Barcelona’s Lewandowski snagged his first hat trick under Xavi.
Here are the top five goals from the first week of an always unpredictable Champions League.
5 – André-Frank Zambo Anguissa – Napoli
This was the second goal in Napoli’s 4-1 thrashing of LFC, who looked clueless on defense for the full 90. With so many Italian masterpieces to choose from, the through-ball and finish on this one makes it an instant classic.
4 – Ferran Torres – Barcelona
Even though Lewy scored three and Dembele had himself one hell of a game (at times, he resembled a man amongst boys), this Ousmane scoop for the one-touch Torres finish takes the cake. Arguably terrible defense, but that’s how many great goals happen.
3 – Mbappe – PSG
Very similar to the Torres goal, with a scoop from Neymar and a one-touch finish from Mbappe. The degree of difficulty seems higher here, especially since Juventus is a higher-quality squad. Neymar is a whiny magician, pulling assists like this one out of his back pockets without warning.
2 – Leroy Sane – Bayern Munich
We’ve really struck on a theme here – overhead passes followed by wonderful first touches. This is the most difficult of them all, from the intensity of the pass to the absolute total ball control Sane displays at full pitch. Goals like this are why Bayern is never really out of it.
1 – Alex Grimaldo – Benfica
This is the only goal on the list where the defense pretty much did everything they could. What on earth are you going to do to stop that? That is a straight-out of the textbook, top-shelf banger. No keeper’s stopping that, and US international Josh Cohen, the guy who that shot blew past, never stood a chance.
Which goal from week 1 of the Champions League was your favorite? Sound off below!
Featured Image: Pexels/Jonas Von Werne/UEFAChampionsLeague/Napoli/FCBayernMunich/DM