NYON: John Stones scored twice as Manchester City opened their new Champions League group campaign by thrashing Feyenoord 4-0.
Stones bothhis goals headed two goals, with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus also on target, as City ran riot at the De Kuip to spoil the Dutch champions’ return to the competition after a 15-year absence.
The England defender set the tone for a dominant display by claiming the opener in the second minute and the game was effectively over inside 25 minutes as Aguero and Jesus struck. Stones’ second just after the hour wrapped up the Group F victory.
Harry Kane lifted Tottenham’s Wembley curse by scoring twice to fire his side to an opening 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. Son Heung-min’s early strike was quickly cancelled out by a stunning effort from Dortmund’s Andriy Yarmolenko – but from there this match belonged to the unstoppable Kane.
He restored Spurs’ lead by capping a barnstorming run with an emphatic near-post finish before a cute shot in the second half secured a 3-1 victory and what could prove a vital result for Mauricio Pochettino’s men. The only blemish saw Jan Vertonghen sent off in added time for throwing an arm into the face of Mario Gotze.
Liverpool’s Champions League return did not go entirely to plan as they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot in the 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla.
Goals from Roberto Firmino, who also missed a penalty, and Mohamed Salah appeared to have put them in control after a Dejan Lovren mistake had allowed Wissam Ben Yedder to open the scoring after just five minutes. But with 18 minutes to go the Reds defence switched off and Joaquin Correa nipped in to equalise with only their second shot on target, while home defender Joe Gomez was sent off in added time for a second bookable offence.
Defending champions Real Madrid justified their position as favourites with a comfortable 3-0 victory over APOEL Nicosia.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently serving a domestic ban for pushing a referee after being sent off in the Spanish Supercopa clash with Barcelona last month, scored twice on his return – taking his Champions League career goals tally to 107 – while Sergio Ramos added an overhead kick as the Cypriots were swatted aside at the Bernabeu.
Wednesday night’s results:
Gp E: Liverpool 2, Sevilla 2; Maribor 1, Spartak 1. Gp F: Feyenoord 0, Man. City 4; Shakhtar 2, Napoli 1. Gp G: Porto 1, Besiktas 3; RB Leipzig 1, Monaco 1. Gp H: Real Madrid 3, APOEL 0; Tottenham 3, Borussia Dortmund 1
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