PARIS: Real Madrid managed to win easily in the Champions League without Cristiano Ronaldo. So did Juventus, after their superstar signing was tearfully sent off within 30 minutes.

Three-time defending champion Real eased to a 3-0 win over AS Roma on Wednesday, with Francisco “Isco” Alarcon scoring from the kind of free kick only Ronaldo got to take in his nine years with the club.

Ronaldo, making his Juve debut in a competition he has won five times, also had a new experience getting a red card against Valencia for tangling with Jeison Murillo.

Seemingly frustrated that Murillo went to ground too easily, Ronaldo reached down to tug or ruffle the defender’s hair.

German referee Felix Brych did not have access to a video review but showed a red card after consulting his assistant behind the goal.

It was Ronaldo’s first sending off in 154 games in the competition and left him in tears.

Still, Juve went on to win 2-0, scoring twice from penalties despite designated spot-kick taker Ronaldo not being there. Miralem Pjanic scored both times.

Elsewhere, one of the favorites to dethrone Real this season, Manchester City, lost at home and Manchester United won away to further dispel their uneasy start to the season.

City were lackluster in a 2-1 loss to Olympique Lyonnais, while rival United had little trouble winning 3-0 at Swiss champions Young Boys.

It could have been tricky for Real. No Ronaldo on the field, no Zinedine Zidane in the dugout, and facing last season’s semi-finalists Roma.

But it was business as usual for the 13-time European champion under new coach Julen Lopetegui at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Isco curled home a sumptuous 45th-minute free-kick to give the 13-time champions the lead, before Gareth Bale, who seemed sure to leave if Zidane stayed, made it three goals in two Champions League matches after his spectacular double in May’s final triumph over Liverpool.

Bale finished off an accurate pass by Luka Modric and Mariano Diaz, making his second debut for Real after rejoining from Lyon last month, smashed home a fantastic third in added time as Keylor Navas kept a clean sheet after being preferred to new signing Thibaut Courtois.

“I thought the performance was very good tonight; the only disappointment was that we didn’t score more,” said Bale.

Also in Group ‘G’, CSKA Moscow trailed 2-0 at halftime, but a stoppage time penalty from Everton loanee Nikola Vlasic made it 2-2 at Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.

A troubled opening half hour for Juve in Valencia saw Mario Mandzukic and Sami Khedira miss clear chances before Ronaldo left the field in tears.

“The only thing I can say is that VAR could have helped the referee make the right decision,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, lamenting the lack of video technology in UEFA tournaments. “It is very disappointing, we almost lost because of that and we will be without Ronaldo for the next game.”

Just before halftime, Joao Cancelo hit the crossbar with a shot and was then fouled by a high boot to the face while chasing the rebound.

Miralem Pjanic converted that penalty kick, and scored again six minutes into the second half when Murillo was penalised for a foul.

The Italian champions defended well thereafter to keep the hosts at arm’s length, although Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny did save a Daniel Parejo spot-kick in the final minute of injury-time.

United top the early Group ‘H’ table, though, after continuing their recent upturn in form in Bern to notch a third straight win in all competitions.

Jose Mourinho’s men were inspired by Paul Pogba on the artificial pitch, as the French World Cup winner drilled home a brilliant opener before converting a penalty on the stroke of half-time, and setting up Anthony Martial for the third.

Though Pogba has been unsettled at United this season, his curling shot and trademark slow-trot penalty within eight first-half minutes suggested he is feeling happier now.

United had lost on their last two trips to Switzerland, both against Basel, but are in a good position to welcome Valencia in two weeks’ time.

LYON STUN CITY

With coach Pep Guardiola watching in the stand, serving a ban carried over from last season, City were surprisingly beaten by visiting Lyon.

City, the bookmakers’ favourites for the title this term, suffered a nightmare first half against an enterprising Lyon, with Maxwel Cornet sweeping in after a mistake by Fabian Delph, and Nabil Fekir, a member of France’s World Cup squad, drilling home before half-time.

The introduction of Sergio Aguero as a substitute revitalised City after the break, and Bernardo Silva turned in Leroy Sane’s cutback with 23 minutes still to play.

But Lyon, who have only won two of their first five Ligue 1 matches this term, held on to clinch a famous victory and ease the pressure on coach Bruno Genesio.

The manner of City’s Premier League title win last season has persuaded many that Guardiola can add to his two Champions League crowns with Barcelona. But the Etihad Stadium was far from full Wednesday, and City struggled in an error-strewn display.

“We saw two very different halves. We conceded many counter-attacks and at this level you get punished,” said City assistant coach Mikel Arteta, who was filling in for Guardiola. “If you give cheap goals away it is difficult.”

In the other Group ‘F’ game earlier on Wednesday, Brazilian youngster Maycon came off the bench to rescue Shakhtar Donetsk a 2-2 draw in their game against group-stage debutants Hoffenheim in Kharkiv.

Five-time champions Bayern Munich got their Group ‘E’ campaign off to a solid start as Niko Kovac’s men eased to a 2-0 triumph against Benfica in Lisbon, with Robert Lewandowski and Renato Sanches scoring the goals.

Also in Group ‘E’, Ajax marked their return after a four-year absence to join Madrid as the only home teams winning on Wednesday, also by 3-0, in Amsterdam.

In the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ajax dispatched AEK Athens with the help of two goals from Argentina defender Nicolas Tagliafico.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2018