Champions League: 5 Things We Learned As Bellingham, Onana Make Headline for Different Reasons

Manchester United and Arsenal both suffered defeats, contrasting with Real Madrid's continued unbeaten run in the Champions League, which was marked by a thrilling comeback victory against Napoli.

Inter Milan, last season's finalists, and six-time champions Bayern Munich secured wins as the 2023-24 UCL group stages began to take shape.

In this report, Sports Brief examines the five key talking points from Tuesday's matchday two fixtures in the Champions League.

Bellingham, the real deal

Let's kick things off with none other than the in-form Jude Bellingham, who continued his Hollywood-esque start at Real Madrid with a stellar performance, contributing a goal and an assist against Napoli.

Champions League: Barca score 5; PSG, City pick up wins; and the 5 talking points from Tuesday's games

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The English midfielder played a pivotal role in Madrid's thrilling come-from-behind win against Napoli at the Stadio Diego Maradona, according to the BBC.

He provided an exquisite assist to set up Vinicius Jr. for the opening goal and later embarked on a mesmerizing solo run to score a remarkable golazo, sealing Los Blancos' 3-2 victory.

In just nine appearances, the Golden Boy Award nominee has already netted an impressive total of eight goals across all competitions, along with three assists. Additionally, he has earned six Man of the Match awards, highlighting his remarkable form.

Onana's woes at United continue to deepen

Andre Onana's performances since joining Manchester United in the summer have failed to live up to the initial hype and excitement surrounding his transfer, per talkSPORT.

The fact that the entire United team has underperformed throughout this campaign only adds to the scrutiny on him, with every mistake receiving heightened attention.

His most recent setback occurred during the Champions League match against Galatasaray on Tuesday. With the game tied at 2-2, Onana's careless pass was intercepted, leading to Casemiro fouling Dries Mertens and conceding a penalty. Casemiro also received a second yellow card and his marching orders in the process.

While Mauro Icardi missed the subsequent penalty, he later capitalized on Onana's mistake by deftly chipping the ball over the goalkeeper, who committed too quickly.

Arsenal suffer double blow at RC Lens

Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season as RC Lens mounted a comeback to secure a 2-1 victory in northern France. Arsenal also lost their star player Bukayo Saka to injury.

Gabriel Jesus provided an ideal start for Mikel Arteta's team by opening the scoring in the 14th minute, momentarily silencing the passionate crowd at Stade Bollaert.

However, Lens' record-signing, Wahi, provided an assist for the equalizer before finding the back of the net in the 69th minute, securing the winning goal as the French side held on to claim all three points.

This win propelled Lens to the top of Group B with four points, one ahead of Arsenal in the standings, The Telegraph reports.

Bayern's perfect group stage run continues

The perennial German champions and six-time winners of the competition found themselves facing a potential upset against Copenhagen, requiring a resilient effort to secure victory.

In a familiar pattern for Thomas Tuchel's side, they conceded an early goal, this time at the beginning of the second half. Lukas Lerager took advantage of a deflection and capitalized on the opportunity to put the Bavarians behind.

However, Jamal Musiala managed to level the score, and then Mathys Tel, coming off the bench, delivered the winning goal, ensuring Bayern Munich's remarkable streak of consecutive UCL group stage victories remained intact.

With this win, Bayern have extended their impressive record to 15 consecutive UCL group stage victories and maintained their unbeaten status against Danish opponents, having won five matches and drawn one, per Forbes.

Inter grind out win against Benfica

Last season's Champions League finalists, Inter Milan, have struggled to replicate their Serie A form in Europe this season. However, they managed to secure their first victory of the campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Benfica.

Summer signing Marcus Thuram proved to be the hero for the Nerazzurri, scoring a crucial goal in the second half to secure all three points for Simone Inzaghi's team. This victory brought Inter's point total to four from two matches.

While Inter continued their dominance in head-to-head matchups against the Portuguese champions, the result also put an end to Benfica's impressive 10-game unbeaten streak in away matches in the UCL.