Five takeaways as Champions League makes a return

Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk, exiled from their war-hit country, began their Champions League campaign with a stunning 4-1 win at Leipzig on Tuesday.

Donetsk arrived for the game with a weakened squad that had played just three domestic league games this season. They had previously not seen competitive action for more than eight months due to the conflict. 

However, two goals from Marian Shved and late strikes by playmaker Mykhaylo Mudryk and substitute Lassina Traoré routed Leipzig.

“I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams such a game with four goals for us," Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko said.

Leipzig reached the semi-finals of the Champions League as recently as 2020.

Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score 35 goals in the Champions League after he netted twice in Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 win over Juventus. 

He took the record from teammate Lionel Messi, who was 47 days older when he reached the milestone.

Mbappe, Messi and Neymar were all prominent as PSG went 2-0 up in the first half. Juventus had a good 10-minute spell in the second half after American midfielder Weston McKennie pulled a goal back, but PSG held on to take all three points.

"We had the opportunities to score that third goal which would have meant a quieter end to the game, but that's also the Champions League," PSG coach Christophe Galtier said.

Galtier also tried to clarify his 'ironic' comments about the club's use of private planes, which drew sharp criticism from France's sports minister.

"Here at PSG we are not out of touch," he said. "The club as a whole, the players, the staff, everyone is obviously very attentive to the problems of climate."

The French league champions have defended their use of chartered flights rather than