European giants knock down bets in Champions League shakeup

European giants Real Madrid and Manchester City suffered humiliating defeats in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Reigning champions Madrid lost 3-1 at home to Milan while Manchester City watched a promising start unravel.

Erling Haaland’s missed penalty and an early lead were not enough as City eventually lost 4-1 to Sporting Lisbon, whose manager is looking to take over City’s rivals.

However, Liverpool had a stellar night at Anfield.

Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick and Cody Gakpo added another in a convincing 4-0 win over German champions Bayer Leverkusen, overshadowing Xabi Alonso’s return to his former club.

The Leverkusen manager was warmly welcomed back to the club, where he became a fan favorite player over five seasons between 2004 and 2009.

Alonso won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.

Liverpool moved to the top of the league table with four wins from four games, followed by Sporting and Monaco, both on 10 points after three wins and a draw.

Under the new 36-team format introduced by UEFA this season, the top eight teams directly qualify for the next round, while teams from ninth to 24th place enter the playoffs to qualify; the bottom 12 are excluded.

There was a huge silence from Sporting fans before the game as they thanked Ruben Amorim in his last home game before taking over at Manchester United.

Phil Foden brought City up in the fourth minute and Sporting conceded only their second goal in four games in the tournament.

But Swedish striker Victor Giokeres scored a hat-trick as Sporting came roaring back.

Gyokeres equalized for the first time in the 38th minute from Giovani Kenda’s perfect pass, before Maximiliano Araujo made it 2-1 just after the break.

The Jokers then made it 3-1 with a penalty after Josko Guardiol was punished for pushing Francisco Trincao in the area.

Haaland’s penalty hit the crossbar before Giokeres showed the Norwegian how it’s done with another penalty at the other end to complete the scoring.

For the first time since 2018, City have lost three games in a row: defeat to Tottenham in the English League Cup and defeat to Bournemouth in the Premier League.

“In seven and a half years at the club, I don’t remember losing three games in a row,” said City midfielder Bernardo Silva.

In Spain, Christian Pulisic’s corner to Malik Thiau gave Milan the lead in the 12th minute, giving Real Madrid the lead for a third straight game in the Champions League this season. The 15-time champion had already lost, surprising the Lille team in the second game.

Vinicius Junior leveled from the penalty spot in the 23rd after he was tripped, but Alvaro Morata pounced on the rebound after Andrei Lunin saved Rafael Leao’s shot to restore the visitors’ lead against his former club.

Morata was met with hostility from the home fans, who obviously remember the goal he scored to take Juventus to the 2015 final at his side’s expense.

Tijani Reynders scored Milan’s third goal as home fans expressed their disappointment at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

“The last two defeats are inexplicable. We must analyze and react quickly,” Lunin said, referring to Madrid’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the previous Spanish league game.

According to Opta, this is the first time since 2009 that Madrid have lost two games in a row at home while conceding at least three goals in each game.

“We have to get back on the right track,” Lunin said.

German striker Nicolas Kühn scored twice as Celtic beat Leipzig 3-1 at home and Juventus drew 1-1 with Lille.

Lille midfielder Edon Zhegrova eluded two defenders before delivering a perfect pass to Jonathan David, who fired at the far post, only for Dusan Vlahovic to equalize from the penalty spot for the Italian club.

Donyell Malen scored for Borussia Dortmund as they beat Sturm Graz 1-0 at home, while Thilo Kehrer did the same against Monaco, who beat Bologna 1-0.

US midfielder Malik Tillman scored one goal and set up another as PSV Eindhoven beat Spanish side Girona 4-0.

Dinamo Zagreb inflicted a fourth straight defeat on Slovan Bratislava in the tournament as the visitors came from behind to claim a 4-1 win in Bratislava.