Ronaldo sees red
CRISTIANO Ronaldo saw red and was sent off on his first appearance for Juventus in the Champions League as a pair of penalties from Miralem Pjanic gave the Italian giants a 2-0 win in Valencia.
The Champions League’s alltime leading scorer with 120 goals was dismissed after just 28 minutes following an off-the-ball incident involving Jeison Murillo — and could now miss a return to Manchester United in the group stage.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Juventus scored both of their goals without their star man with Pjanic tucking away his spotkicks in the minutes either side of half-time.
Ronaldo might have endured a miserable night but over in Lisbon, Renato Sanches received a standing ovation from Benfica fans after inspiring Bayern Munich to a 2-0 victory.
Sanches, a one-time Swansea loanee who has endured a torrid few years since leaving Portugal for the Bundesliga as an 18-year-old back in 2016, capped a fine performance with the first goal of his Bayern career.
Roberto Lewandowski had opened the scoring just 10 minutes in before Sanches struck nine minutes after the break, bundling in James Rodriguez’s cross.
“I’m so happy to have had a night like this in Lisbon, and I want to thank the Benfica fans,” Sanches told Sky in Germany. “It was a very special moment for me and I enjoyed it a lot.”
Holders Real Madrid made a winning start in Group G as goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and Diaz Mariano gave them a 3-0 victory against Roma at the Bernabeu but there were mixed fortunes for the Manchester clubs as they started their campaigns.
Paul Pogba struck twice in the first half — the second from the penalty spot — and Anthony Martial added a third as Manchester United ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in Switzerland against Young Boys.
But while Jose Mourinho could celebrate a comfortable night on the plastic pitch, Premier League rival Pep Guardiola could only watch as Manchester City slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat against Lyon.
The City boss was in the stands at the Etihad Stadium due to a touchline ban and his side lacked their usual dynamism as they gifted first-half goals to Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir.
Bernardo Silva pulled one back as City rallied after the break but they could not force an equaliser in a disappointing start to their continental campaign.
Earlier in City’s group, Shakhtar Donetsk twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Hoffenheim, who scored goals through Florian Grillitsch and Havard Nordtveit.
Ismaily dos Santos first brought the Ukrainian champions level before substitute Barberan Maycon rescued the hosts a point again with nine minutes left.
Elsewhere, Ajax beat AEK Athens 3-0, Nicolas Tagliafico on target either side of Donny van de Beek’s strike for the Dutch side.
But Viktoria Plzen squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with CSKA Moscow.
Michal Krmencik scored twice to put Plzen in control but Fedor Chalov pulled one back before an injury-time penalty from Nikola Vlasic rescued a point for the Russians.