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Captain Paul Pogba produced an outstanding performance garnished by two goals to help Manchester United to a resounding 3-0 win at Swiss debutants Young Boys Bern in their Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday.
In other matches on Wednesday night, champions Real Madrid beat A S Roma 3-0, Bayern Munich beat Benfica 2-0, CSK Moscow and Plezen drew 2-2, Lyon beat Manchester City 2-1, and Juventus beat Valencia 2-0.
Pogba bossed midfield on the artificial pitch and fired United ahead in the 35th minute with a goal of the highest quality, drilling a left-foot shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area after side-stepping his marker.
The France World Cup winner made it 2-0 with a contentious 44th-minute penalty, harshly awarded by German referee Deniz Aytekin after Luke Shaw's cross struck Kevin Mbabu's arm as the defender tried to avoid contact.
A darting run by Pogba midway through the second half released Anthony Martial and the forward scored with a clinical finish from eight metres after his compatriot's good work left him with time and space to find the back of the net.
Roared on by a vocal home crowd, Young Boys charged at United in the opening 30 minutes, forcing two saves by David De Gea as the Spain goalkeeper kept out long-range efforts from Mohamed Ali Camara and Christian Fassnacht.
United's defence looked vulnerable on either flank to the home team's breakaways, although 19-year-old Portuguese right back Diogo Dalot showed pace going forward on his debut for the Premier League side.
After Marcus Rashford clipped the outside of the post with a flicked shot in the 22nd minute, United's nerves were settled when Pogba broke the deadlock out of nothing thanks to a piece of sublime individual skill.
Young Boys' hopes of a comeback evaporated after Pogba confidently converted the penalty and Martial, enjoying a rare start up front, made no mistake at the near post as United maintained cruise control in the second half.
Bayern's Sanches scores, earns applause on return to Lisbon
Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches made a memorable return to former club Benfica Lisbon, scoring once and helping set up the other goal in the Germans' 2-0 Champions League Group E opening win on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Benfica youth product, who joined Bayern in 2016 but hardly played before being loaned out to SwanseaCity last season, earned a rare start due to the injury of Thiago Alcantara.
He made the most of his chance as Bayern cruised to a comfortable victory despite a string of injury absences that also include World Cup winner Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman and Rafinha.
Talented and lightning-quick, Portugal international Sanches emerged as a teenaged sensation following their Euro 2016 victory, but Bayern fans had seen little of his abilities until Wednesday.
The Bundesliga leaders, who have won all their competitive matches so far this season, opened their account after 10 minutes when Sanches sent Franck Ribery down the wing.
The Frenchman charged through and Robert Lewandowski completed the move with a fine turn.
Benfica, who have not scored more than once in their last 10 Champions League matches on home soil, had to wait almost half an hour for their own first chance, a header that was deflected wide.
Sanches then picked up where he had left off before the break and with a sensational 40-metre sprint launched a quick Bayern move that he finished off with a tap-in as the entire stadium gave him a standing ovation.
Bayern, who saw midfielder Thomas Mueller become only the third German player to reach 100 Champions League matches, next host Ajax in Munich on October 2.
