Champions League: Winners and Losers from Wednesday's Action on Matchday 1
Roma and Porto were the big winners Wednesday in Champions League action, as both recorded lopsided wins in their group-stage openers.
The Giallorossi thumped CSKA Moscow 5-1 in the Italian capital, while the Dragons shellacked BATE Borisov 6-0 in Portugal.
But there were plenty of other talking points that emerged Wednesday, and over the next few slides we’ll examine just a few of them.
The following are the winners and losers from the second half of Matchday 1.
Winner: Gervinho, Who Rose to the Occasion for Roma
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In 11 Champions League matches during his time at Arsenal, Gervinho found the back of the net just twice.
On Wednesday he equalled his haul for the Gunners in European club football's most prestigious club competition with a first-half brace, and he also picked up an assist on Juan Iturbe's opener.
Impressively, the Ivory Coast international also completed 96 percent of his passes (statistics courtesy WhoScored.com), the vast majority of which came in the high-risk area of the attacking third.
Loser: The Roma Fans, Who Were Not Gracious Hosts for Their Moscow Guests
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So much about Roma's long-awaited return to the Champions League went right.
They welcomed the fans arriving to the stadium with a live orchestra, and they scored four times in 31 minutes en route to a memorable 5-1 win over CSKA Moscow.
But reports of stabbings prior to kick-off, as reported by Football Italia, once again left the club and its fans with a black eye.
As much as the Giallorossi enhanced their credentials in competitive Group E, they also grew their reputation as a dangerous host in European competition.
Winner: Yacine Brahimi, Who Scored a Hat-Trick for Porto
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Porto rocketed to the top of Group H thanks to a lopsided, 6-0 win at home to BATE Borisov on Wednesday.
Yacine Brahimi, who arrived at the club for €6.5 million from Granada during the summer, scored half his team's goals at Estadio do Dragao, the first two of which came in the opening 32 minutes.
The Algeria international's third came from a 57th-minute free-kick that he earned after sustaining a foul from Edgar Olekhnovich.
Winner: Jerome Boateng, Who Scored a Stunning Winner Against Manchester City
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Manchester City will have gone into the final few minutes of their Group E opener away to Bayern Munich thinking they had done just enough to earn a split of the points with the Bundesliga champions.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart had kept the Premier League side in with a shout thanks to a handful of spectacular saves, one of which kept Bayern defender Jerome Boateng at bay in the 88th minute.
But less than 60 seconds later, Boateng got the better of the English international, latching on to a bouncing ball and driving it past Hart and into the far corner of the goal.
Hart was quoted by Andy Hampson for The Independent as saying, "We did okay and looked like we were going to get a result out of it, which would have been a good start to the group away against a good side. But it was an unfortunate deflection that ended up going in, and that killed us."
Loser: Sergei Ignashevich, Who Helped Roma Run Up the Score
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Roma didn't need any help in the attacking third Wednesday, but they nevertheless got some from Sergei Ignashevich shortly after the restart.
Having gone back down the tunnel with a 4-0 lead, Roma started the second half as they had ended the first and in the 51st minute found themselves ahead by five.
But this time it wasn't Gervinho or Juan Iturbe doing the business; rather, it was CSKA defender Ignashevich who beat his own goalkeeper with a desperate, diving effort as the hosts continued to turn the screw.
Igor Akinfeev, who had a horrid night between the sticks for the guests, certainly didn't need one of his own team-mates rubbing salt in the wound.
Winner: Lasse Schone, Who Struck a Spectacular Free-Kick Against PSG
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Paris Saint-Germain took the lead at Ajax when Edinson Cavani beat Jasper Cillessen after just 14 minutes.
They should have doubled the lead when Lucas Moura missed a sitter shortly after the restart, and their wastefulness allowed their hosts to grow into the match.
By the time Marquinhos fouled Thulani Serero in the 72nd minute, Ajax were enjoying their best spell of the encounter. And when Lasse Schone stepped up to take the resulting free-kick, there was the feeling something special was about to happen.
It did.
The 28-year-old, who also took five shots and completed 93 percent of his passes before being withdrawn with eight minutes to play, hit a perfect delivery—arrowing the ball well beyond the reach of PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
