Real Madrid suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat away to CSKA Moscow in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. The holders were beaten on a night when Manchester City left it late before taking all three points away to Hoffenheim.
City's good result was in contrast to local rivals Manchester United, who are winless in four matches across all competitions after a 0-0 home draw with Valencia in Group H. United dropped points after group favourites Juventus had swept aside Young Boys by a scoreline of 3-0.
Group E produced a mild surprise when Ajax earned a creditable 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich.
Tuesday's Results
Hoffenheim 1-2 Manchester City
Juventus 3-0 Young Boys
AEK Athens 2-3 Benfica
Bayern Munich 1-1 Ajax
Lyon 2-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
AS Roma 5-0 Viktoria Plzen
CSKA Moscow 1-0 Real Madrid
Manchester United 0-0 Valencia
Table Standings
Standings below show Matches Played, Wins, Goal Difference and Points, per the tournament's official website.
Group E
1. Ajax: 2, 1, +3, 4
2. Bayern Munich: 2, 1, +2, 4
3. Benfica: 2, 1, -1, 3
4. AEK Athens: 2, 0, -4, 0
Group F
1. Lyon: 2, 1, +1, 4
2. Manchester City: 2, 1, 0, 3
3. Shakhtar Donetsk: 2, 0, 0, 2
4. Hoffenheim: 2, 0, -1, 1
Group G
1. CSKA Moscow: 2, 1, +1, 4
2. AS Roma: 2, 1, +2, 3
3. Real Madrid: 2, 1, +2, 3
4. Viktoria Plzen: 2, 0, -5, 1
Group H
1. Juventus: 2, 2, +5, 6
2. Manchester United: 2, 1, +3, 4
3. Valencia: 2, 0, -2, 1
4. Young Boys: 2, 0, -6, 0
Ishak Belfodil put Hoffenheim in front in less than a minute in Germany. His goal merely provided the cue for City to go through the gears, as Sergio Aguero drew the visitors level a mere six minutes later.
Things didn't go quite as smoothly for most of the second half, prompting City boss Pep Guardiola into a tactical reshuffle:
Guardiola's bold change was rewarded three minutes from time when Silva netted the winner.
It's a significant result for City on a night when Group F opponents Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk drew 2-2 in France. Goals from former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele and Leo Dubois helped Lyon cancel out a double from Junior Moraes.
The shock of the night came in Moscow when Nikola Vlasic put CSKA ahead after just two minutes against the holders. Los Blancos tried to battle back but were unable to find the finishing touch in front of goal, with Karim Benzema spurning a glorious chance when he hit the woodwork.
Struggles in front of goal are becoming common for the club that sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus this summer:
Real dropping points was compounded by Roma clicking into gear against Viktoria Plzen. The Serie A giants' goal rush was inspired by a hat-trick from Edin Dzeko, while Cengiz Under and Justin Kluivert also got on the scoresheet.
Another of Ronaldo's former clubs had a night to forget, as United were held scoreless by Valencia in a drab game at Old Trafford. The Red Devils lacked a spark in attacking areas, despite under-fire manager Jose Mourinho handing a rare start to Alexis Sanchez:
Valencia, a side with just one win in La Liga so far this season, stayed comfortable most of the night as United's problems at home continued:
While United were toiling in front of goal, Juventus were seizing control of Group H. The Bianconeri were without the suspended Ronaldo but still had Paulo Dybala in attack.
He helped himself to three goals to see off Young Boys in Turin.
Bayern are expected to boss Group E, but the Bundesliga heavyweights found things tougher than expected against an Ajax side not intimidated by falling behind early at the Allianz Arena.
Mats Hummels put Die Roten 1-0 up in the fourth minute, only for Noussair Mazraoui to level the scores 18 minutes later.
The group's other game was a five-goal thriller which saw Benfica go 2-0 in front thanks to Haris Seferovic and Alex Grimaldo. AEK Athens responded in style with a brace courtesy of Viktor Klonaridis.
It was left to Alfa Semedo to win it for Benfica ahead of the final 15 minutes.
Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid will be in action as the second week of group matches continues on Wednesday.
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