5️⃣ things we learned from Wednesday's Champions League action

Wednesday night saw undoubtedly the best night of the new Champions League season so far, with goals, drama and stunning results everywhere.if(typeof(jQuery)=="function"){(function($){$.fn.fitVids=function(){}})(jQuery)};jwplayer('jwplayer_sjyYcHJH_5oNpOZgB_div').setup({"playlist":"https://content.jwplatform.com/feeds/sjyYcHJH.json","ph":2});Here’s what we made of it all.Aston Villa repeat heroics of ’82 on famous nightAston Villa had not played a home game in the Champions League/European Cup since a 2-1 defeat against Juventus in March 1983, but they more than made up for up lost time with a brilliant 1-0 victory against Bayern Munich at Villa Park.It was an incredibly fitting score line given it was an exact repeat of the 1982 final, the scorer on that night, Peter Withe, was sat in the stands, and there was a tribute on the night to Gary Shaw, another hero of that team, who sadly passed away last month.Unai Emery’s side had just 36% of the possession, but consistently looked dangerous against a less than convincing Bayern defence, and thought they had gone in front through Pau Torres in the first-half only for it to be ruled out for VAR for offside.The defender played a role in the winner though, sending the ball in the direction of Jhon Durán, who did it once again for Villa off the bench, lofting the ball over an onrushing Manuel Neuer for the only goal of the game.With another in tonight's win against Bayern Munich, Aston Villa's Jhon Duran has scored more goals as a substitute in all competitions than any player in Europe's big five leagues this season (5).The term 'super sub' almost doesn't do him justice, really.#AVLFCB #UCL pic.twitter.com/J0FcQityfO— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) October 2, 2024The Colombian now has five goals as a substitute this season, and might be the best non-starter in world football right now.As for Emery, he joins José Mourinho as the only managers to beat Bayern in Europe with three different teams, and marks a magical two years as Villa manager in the best possible fashion.Lille stun the championsVilla were joined in celebrating a famous 1-0 victory by Lille, who stunned Real Madrid at the Stade-Pierre Mauroy.The home side, who were shorn of England star Angel Gomes through suspension, played as one might expect: organised in defence, compact in midfield and, crucially, took their chance when they got it, which came from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.Eduardo Camavinga conceded it, capping off a miserable night on his return to France, and Jonathan David smashed the ball past Andriy Lunin, who was in for the injured Thibaut Courtois.⚪️📉 Ancelotti: “Lille were better and deserved to win. We were bad and slow tonight”.“We didn't create, the possession was slow, no ideas. We were bad under every aspect”. pic.twitter.com/mJXVO4fr0o— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 2, 2024Real looked out of sorts throughout, with their only early chance coming from Endrick. Things slightly improved when Kylian Mbappé came on, with he, Jude Bellingham and Vini Jr. all having efforts on goal late on.However, Lille were worthy winners against the 15-time champions on a famous night for the club.Benfica cut Atlético apart in LisbonOn a night of tightly-fought contests, few would have predicted Benfica vs Atlético de Madrid would be the one that resulted in a hammering, and less that it would be Diego Simeone’s side on the end of it.But, that’s exactly what happened at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon tonight.Kerem Aktürkoğlu got them up and running in the 13th minute, making it four goals and two assists since his move from Galatasaray in the summer. Of course, he celebrated with some now-trademark Harry Potter wand waving.He certainly seeemed to put a spell on Atléti, who collapsed after half-time, conceding three times, twice from the penalty spot. To make matters worse, Ángel Di María scored one of the spot kicks, coming back to haunt Simeone and co 10 years on from their last meeting in the 2014 final.3 – This is the first time in @ChampionsLeague history with three Spanish sides losing their game in a single day (Girona, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid). Weakness. pic.twitter.com/3J6FbYhaAY— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 2, 2024To sum up the surprising gulf in class tonight, Atléti failed to have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes. Routed.Juventus show their mettle and goalscoring touchMuch has been made of Juventus’ defence this season, with a ridiculous record of six consecutive clean sheets to start the Serie A.However, tonight it was all about their somewhat maligned attack, and their mettle, as they battled back to defeat Leizpig 3-2 in the Red Bull Arena.Thiago Motta lost both Bremer and Nico González to injury inside 11 minutes, before going behind to a brilliant Benjamin Šeško strike on the half-hour. Their response in the next hour said a lot about their progress under the former Bologna manager.Dušan Vlahović drew them level early into the second half before goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off, and Šeško restored Leipzig’s lead from the spot.3 – Dusan #Vlahovic is one of the only 3 players from the Big-5 European leagues to have already scored 2+ goals in 3 different games across all competitions in 2024/25 (against Hellas Verona, Genoa and Leipzig), alongside Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski. Robot.#UCL pic.twitter.com/sEmBsOKh5p— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 2, 2024Vlahović quickly tied things up again, and while a point would have been a great result all things considered, Francisco Conceição stole all three points with eight minutes to go.A brilliant night for the Old Lady, who might just be on the way back.A massive improvement on Tuesday nightLike the first game week of the new Champions League season, night one showed the worst of modern-day European football, while night two reminded us that there is still some magic left.After multiple 4+ goal hammerings last night, tonight saw surprising and shocking victories, an unlikely beating, as well as some great games and landmark achievements.In the early kick off, Girona scored their first-ever Champions League goal, before scoring two own goals en route to a dramatic 3-2 loss at home to Feyenoord. It was the Dutch giants’, who won the trophy in 1970, first away win in the competition in 22 long years, and snapped a run of eight straight losses on the road.Dinamo Zagreb, who lost 9-2 to Bayern in the opening round, came ever so close to having their own night to remember, only to be pegged back from 2-0 up by a resilient Monaco side.All in all, it was a marked improvement, and, while it is highly wishful thinking, long may it continue.