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Aguero hat-trick helps Man City trounce Moenchengladbach
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 per cent record at the club with a commanding 4-0 victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach in their rearranged Champions League Group C opener on Wednesday.
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City immediately took control of the game, which was postponed on Tuesday due to heavy rain, and Aguero gave them the lead in the eighth minute when he lifted a cross from Aleksandar Kolarov high into the Moenchengladbach net.
The Argentina striker doubled the home side's lead in the 28th minute when he sent Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer the wrong way from the penalty spot after Christoph Kramer had clumsily brought down Ilkay Gundogan, making his debut in place of David Silva who was rested as a precaution after developing a minor injury in training.
Aguero completed his hat-trick in the 77th minute from close range after being set clear by Raheem Sterling and Kelechi Iheanacho made it 4-0 in stoppage time.
The goals took Aguero's Champions League tally to 45, overtaking Paul Scholes and Luis Figo, and he has now scored nine times in five games for City this season.
His efforts ensured Guardiola made a successful start to his attempt to join the elite band of managers -- including cross-city rival Jose Mourinho -- who have led two clubs to Europe's most prestigious club honour.
The Spaniard, who reached the semi-finals in all three seasons with Bayern Munich after winning the competition with Barcelona, praised his team for the efficient manner in which they dealt with tricky opponents.
"I know this Borussia team perfectly, I had never won against this coach before. I knew how difficult this would be for us," said the Spaniard.
"It was the most dominant performance of my time here, considering the importance of the game. All the players played at a high, high level."
Guardiola saw new signing Gundogan make a highly impressive debut.
The German, full of neat control and incisive passing, played for the first time since dislocating the knee that kept him out of Euro 2016.
Three minutes after his clinical early strike, Aguero unselfishly set up Gundogan 10 metres out but the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder was denied by an athletic save from Sommer.
After two minor alarms -- when Pablo Zabaleta's over-hit back pass evaded Claudio Bravo and a sweet shot by Raffael was deflected by John Stones -- City doubled their lead after Christoph Kramer clumsily brought down Gundogan just inside the box.
Aguero coolly side-footed the penalty home and the only negative of a commanding first-half performance was that the striker required lengthy treatment on his left knee.
He hobbled off at half time but reappeared for the second half and, along with Nicolas Otamendi and especially Sterling, threatened Sommer's goal again.
Sterling's fine reverse pass set Aguero clear on goal in the 77th minute and he put the ball through Sommer's legs to complete his hat-trick before Iheanacho converted after superb work by substitute Leroy Sane.
City next face Celtic in Glasgow on Sept. 28 while Moenchengladbach host Barcelona, who dismantled the Scottish side 7-0 on Tuesday.
Monaco stun Tottenham with victory at Wembley
First-half goals by Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar earned Monaco a surprise 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group E opener at Wembley Stadium to silence the London club's record 'home' attendance.
More than 85,000 packed the national stadium -- Tottenham's adopted home for this year's Champions League -- on a balmy Riviera-like night in London but the club's second campaign among Europe's elite began in disheartening fashion.
Toby Alderweireld's header shortly before the interval offered hope of a second-half siege but Monaco, leaders of Ligue 1, held out comfortably to top the early group standings.
"We conceded a goal after 16 minutes that, at this level and in football, you cannot concede," Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said. "We improved in the second half and had chances to win.
"They had only two shots on target and scored twice. We feel very disappointed with the result, we deserved more but you cannot concede like we did."
The crowd, beating the 75,038 that watched Tottenham play Sunderland at White Hart Lane in 1938, was a new record for a home fixture for a British club in the competition.
And they pumped up the volume as the game kicked off with Spurs on the front foot and Son Heung-Min close to giving the hosts a dream start with a shot cleared off the line.
Near silence descended on the huge stadium when Monaco, who stunned Arsenal two seasons ago in the last 16, took the lead with their first real incursion after 15 minutes.
Argentine playmaker Erik Lamela carelessly gave the ball away in his own half and Portugal international Silva ran on unopposed before smashing a shot past Hugo Lloris.
Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham, known for their high-tempo football last season when they challenged for the Premier League title, struggled to exert any sustained pressure.
Monaco looked comfortable and doubled their lead in the 31st minute when Djibril Sidibe slung in a hopeful cross and it rebounded off the body of Spurs left back Ben Davies to Lemar, on for the injured Nabil Dirar, to send a powerful shot into the roof of the net past Lloris.
The tiny travelling pod of Monaco fans numbering no more than 350 celebrated but it was the vast home majority who found their voices again just before halftime when Lamela's corner was headed powerfully home by Belgian Alderweireld.
Dele Alli was desperately close to equalising in first-half stoppage time, stretching to reach a Lamela cross.
Tottenham were re-energised at the start of the second half and Alli brought a superb save from Danijel Subasic after letting fly with a dipping volley from 25 metres.
Harry Kane then found himself clear on goal but delayed his shot far too long and was closed down.
Kane wasted an even better chance with 12 minutes remaining, shooting straight at Subasic from in front of goal.
Monaco were calm thereafter and suffered no late alarms.
Two-goal Mahrez gives Leicester flying start at Bruges
Leicester City enjoyed the easiest possible introduction to Champions League football as two Riyad Mahrez goals helped them to brush off the limited Group G challenge of Club Bruges 3-0 at the Jan Breydel stadium on Wednesday.
The win was Leicester's first in any European competition for 55 years and last season's surprise Premier League champions could not have wished for a better start, taking the lead when Marc Albrighton seized on a misplaced header from a long throw to score in the fifth minute.
The goal secured his position in the club's history as their first-ever scorer in the competition, and their first in Europe since 2000.
"It was some feeling, something I never thought I'd achieve," said Albrighton, who has won a Premier League medal, played against Barcelona and now scored in the Champions League since being released by Aston Villa two years ago.
"There is no reason why we can't win this competition," he added. "People said we couldn't win the Premier League but just to be this far is fantastic."
The game was effectively settled as a contest on 29 minutes when Mahrez curled a superb free kick into the net after veteran defender Timmy Simons had hauled down Jamie Vardy on the edge of the area.
With such a comfortable lead, Leicester began to savour the novel experience of playing top-level European football and could have added a third before the interval when Danny Drinkwater rocked back on his heels and produced a stinging volley from outside the area.
The only sour note for Leicester was a booking for 29-million-pound ($38.38-million) record signing Islam Slimani for a push on the back of Bjorn Engels, which led to the defender falling awkwardly and injuring his shoulder.
Mahrez completed the rout from the penalty spot on 61 minutes after Vardy gave the defence the slip and was upended by keeper Ludovic Butelle.
Leicester enjoyed such dominance that manager Claudio Ranieri substituted both strikers with 20 minutes remaining. The Italian said he was delighted with the performance, particularly on the back of last Saturday's 4-1 demolition by Liverpool.
"It was an important win after that Liverpool defeat," said Ranieri who has taken his teams out of the group stages in four of his five previous Champions League campaigns.
Morata hits injury-time winner to earn Real comeback win
Late strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata gave Real Madrid a last-gasp 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon as the European champions came from behind to win the first game of their Champions League defence.
Ronaldo denied his Portuguese boyhood club a famous win by scoring an equaliser from a free-kick in the 89th minute just when it seemed Madrid could, sensationally, lose their opening game in Group F.
Morata then headed home deep in injury time to complete the fightback.
"We didn't start the game well but Real Madrid are famous for comebacks like these and we leave here very happy," said Morata.
"We always believed in ourselves and we proved that you can always win a game until the referee blows the final whistle. Football is not always fair but it was fundamental to win and that's what we've done."
Brazilian Bruno Cesar had earlier given the visitors a surprise yet deserved lead in the 47th minute as he pounced on indecision in the Real back line.
Real took their time to respond to going behind with Ronaldo missing a gilt-edged chance to level when he struck the near post from a couple of yards out.
Real had gone into the game on top of La Liga after a convincing 5-2 win over Osasuna but met a well-drilled Sporting side who flooded the midfield with bodies and frequently won possession back, launching quick and dangerous breaks.
The first of these breakaways came early in the game and led to Cesar trying his luck from the edge of the area, firing narrowly wide of Kiko Casilla's right-hand post.
Real struggled to find solutions to Sporting's strategy and were limited to shots from distance, like one stinging effort from Ronaldo which Rui Patricio tipped over the bar.
Gareth Bale had looked Real's liveliest player in the first half but was on the wrong end of a painful challenge from Sebastian Coates, who kneed the Wales international in the midrift.
Bale was taken off in the second period along with Karim Benzema, who looked far from peak fitness.
Zidane's double substitution had a tangible impact on the game, however, with Lucas Vazquez giving Real extra energy while Morata added extra power in the area.
And it was the local striker's tenacity that won the points at the death as he leapt to head James Rodriguez's cross home.
