UEFA Champions League Tuesday Roundup: Matchday 1

Throughout the season, we at 32 Flags will be giving you a complete recap of the action after each day in the UEFA Champions League.  Not only will we run down the biggest winners and losers, but the highlights and most talked about moments of the day.

1) Biggest Winner – Olympiakos

Olympiakos took it to the previous year La Liga winner and Champions League finalist and upset Atletico Madrid 3-2. In a group that looked like it would see Juventus and Atletico advance, Olympiakos made it a three team race after just the first day.

2) Standout Performer – Real Madrid

Real Madrid let one go in but they dominated Basel by putting up five goals today. Cristiano Ronaldo ties Messi (as of tonight) for 2nd place in most Champions League goals scored. They’re already set up for an easy group stage win.

3) Biggest Loser – Bayer Leverkusen

There were many nominees but Leverkusen takes the spot because they’re in a group where all four teams could realistically get into the top two and they lost ground already. For a team who is currently leading the Bundesliga, they got off to a rough start in Champions League.

4) Best Tweet

5) Biggest Surprise – Ludogorets

First thing I saw when Liverpool played Ludogorets was that Ludogorets didn’t really care that they were playing Liverpool in Anfield and that this was the first Champions League night in Anfield in five years. Ludogorets weren’t intimidated and really deserved a result against the five-time champs. After catching Liverpool napping and getting the equalizer in stoppage time, Liverpool got a penalty that honestly could’ve gone either way. Anyway, it fell to Liverpool, Steven Gerrard buried the shot and Liverpool escaped with three points.

6) Best Moment – Ludogorets fans

When Ludogorets scored the equalizer against Liverpool, the Ludogorets fans at Anfield were probably the happiest people in the world. It’s their first Champions League game going against one of the top and well known teams in the world at their stadium and they just equalized in stoppage time. For those few minutes before Pool scored the winner, it was bliss for Ludogorets.

7) Best Goal – Carlos Tevez

Many fine goals but I gotta give it to this Carlos Tevez goal mainly because of the set up to the goal.

8) Extra Time –  

Your lineup of Champions League games for tomorrow include:

Group E: Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City on Fox Sports 1
Group F: Barcelona vs. APOEL on Fox Sports Networks
Group G: Chelsea vs. Schalke on Fox Sports 2
Group E: Roma vs. CSKA Moscow
Group F: Ajax vs. PSG
Group G: Maribor vs. Sporting Lisbon
Group H: Porto vs. BATE Borisov
Group H: Athletic Bilbao vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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