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If your fantasy sides had stars such as Sergio Agüero, Edinson Cavani, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandoski, Romelu Lukaku, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, the the first round points were flowing like New Year’s Eve champagne and kisses. (With Cavani, Lewandoski and Ronaldo up front, I was certainly privy to plenty of that bubbly and smooching!) Of course, Felipe Pardo and John Stones also chipped in with braces in more unexpected fashion, so those and other diamonds in the rough paid off even more handsomely for fantasy managers with functional crystal balls.
Along with the individual joy delivered by their stars, mega-teams Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, PSG and Real Madrid each romped by at least three goals while keeping clean sheets. For players and squads alike, things simply went to form. Other than Barcelona, which dispatched Juventus with surprising ease and now travels to Sporting Lisbon, those aforementioned big teams have what look to be more difficult matches this time around. Going the other way, things would seem to be more favorable for the likes of Juventus, Liverpool, Napoli, Roma, Sevilla and Tottenham. But as everybody knows, things don’t always turn out the way they should, so buckle in for what promises to be a fun ride!
TUESDAY
Group E
Sevilla v. Maribor
Spartak Moscow v. Liverpool
Group F
Napoli v. Feyenoord Rotterdam
Manchester City v. Shakhtar Donetsk
Group G
Besiktas JK v. RB Leipzig
AS Monaco FC v. FC Porto
Group H
Borussia Dortmund v. Real Madrid
APOEL Nicosia v. Tottenham Hotspur
WEDNESDAY
Group A
Basel v. Benfica
CSKA Moscow v. Manchester United
Group B
Anderlecht v. Celtic FC
Paris Saint Germain v. Bayern Munich
Group C
Atletico Madrid v. Chelsea
Qarabag v. AS Roma
Group D
Juventus v. Olympiacos
Sporting Lisbon v. Barcelona
Do you expect things to go to form again, or will there be surprises in the second set of group stage games? What changes did you make to your fantasy teams, and on whom are you relying for big performances? Which games are you watching? Join in the comments below!