It's been a riveting start to the Champions League group stage and Wednesday's action featured Group F matches between Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw and defending champion Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon.
The world had its eye on these matches first because Dortmund's master plan of United States superstar Christian Pulisic has finally come into focus. Coach Thomas Tuchel looks like he is using the youngster exclusively for the Champions League since the kid has yet to see action in the hard-nosed Bundesliga - a league in which Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin currently sit stop the table with perfect records. Clearly teams like Bayern and Hertha are a cut above the teenager, who will instead get opportunities against lesser lights in Warsaw, Madrid and Lisbon.
And that's what Pulisic did as Dortmund ran riot in Poland with a 6-0 rout, proving they were in a 'Legia' of their own. Pulisic made his presence felt with a huge assist on this key goal by Gonzalo Castro that made it 5-0 in the 76th minute and snuffed out any notions of a four-goal Warsaw comeback ...
While Dortmund coasted to the three points, they were joined atop the table by Madrid in dramatic fashion. Sporting Lisbon led for almost the entire second half until Cristiano Ronaldo did this in the 89th minute:
Ronaldo's equalizer was followed by Alvaro Morata's winner in stoppage time in a pulsating 2-1 victory. If you notice the glum look on the face of the classy Ronaldo, that's because he was playing against the club with which he began his professional career. The best player in the world said in the build-up how emotional the game would be because he joined Lisbon as a teenager after leaving his boyhood island home of Madeira. It's a touching story of Madeira to Madrid.
The 31-year-old Ronaldo is no longer a teenager, a distinction that now belongs to Pulisic, whose touching story of going from Hershey, PA to Dortmund has thrilled the world. These two superstars are set to meet for the first time on the next Matchday in Group F, clearly an historic occasion for both Cristiano and Christian. One is the best player in the game as of now while the other may soon hold that title as well, having already secured his status as the best United States player in history. Pulisic received rave reviews for his performance in Poland.
.@cpulisic_10, what was it like to walk on the pitch and hear the Champions League hymn? Mehr 📺? BVB total! #legbvb pic.twitter.com/3wvD5EyPb6— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 15, 2016
So mark down Sept. 27 on your calendar for this extraordinary Critiano vs. Christian showdown after both starred on Matchday 1 with late heroics. And remember, Ronaldo may be European champion but he has yet to prove that he can beat someone from the States on the world stage.
OTHER NEWS: As die-hard football fans know, the other Champions League, the CONCACAF version also took place Wednesday. Costa Rican club Saprissa defeated Portland of the MLS by a 4-2 score. Portland is now close to crashing out out of the competition while Sporting Kansas City already has.
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