Champions League: Reijnders scores twice as Milan downs Brugge 3-1; Minamino brace powers Monaco to 5-1 win

The seven-time European champion had been one of eight sides winless after two games, having lost 1-0 at Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month and 3-1 at home to Liverpool in the competition opener.

Tijjani Reijnders celebrates after scoring for AC Milan against Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. | Photo Credit: AP

AC Milan secured its first points in the Champions League this season with a 3-1 home win over Belgian champions Club Brugge on Tuesday as Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders scored twice in the second half.

The seven-time European champion had been one of eight sides winless after two games, having lost 1-0 at Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month and 3-1 at home to Liverpool in the competition opener.

Christian Pulisic put Milan ahead in the 34th minute, scoring directly from a corner kick, before Brugge was reduced to 10 men in the 40th when midfielder Raphael Onyedika was sent off for a foul on Reijnders following a lengthy VAR check.

Kyriani Sabbe levelled for last season’s Conference League semi-finalists Brugge after the break with a low strike into the far corner.

AS IT HAPPENED: AC Milan 3-1 Club Brugge, UEFA Champions League Highlights

Reijnders restored the lead for the hosts in the 61st minute with a simple first-time finish from near the penalty spot, before sealing the win with a similar effort 10 minutes later.

It was a shaky start for Milan against a Brugge side who started off aggressively and had two goal attempts inside three minutes, and goalkeeper Mike Maignan was put to work early to block Christos Tzolis’s strike from inside the box.

Tzolis continued causing problems for the host side and he had another brilliant chance five minutes later, with Maignan once more denying the shot before Joel Ordonez hit the bar from a distance after a corner.

But Milan grew into the game and Brugge keeper Simon Mignolet pulled off a great save to deny Pulisic in Milan’s first attempt on target before the half-hour mark.

He was, however, helpless minutes later when the U.S. midfielder sent a stunning curled corner kick right past the goal line.

Pulisic remains Milan’s top scorer this season, with five goals in Serie A and two in the Champions League.

A depleted Brugge hit back after the break and equalised through halftime substitute Sabbe, who was set up across the box by fellow substitute Hugo Vetlesen.

But the host side profited from its numerical advantage and Reijnders put it back up after the hour mark, netting a neat back pass from Noah Okafor before Samuel Chukwueze teed him up for another goal with an equally great pass.

The Dutch midfielder scored his first goals of the season across all competitions before 16-year-old Francesco Camarda thought he had added a fourth with a header but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Milan, which last year was eliminated in the group stage, next travels to champion Real Madrid on November 5.

Brugge, which won 1-0 at Austria’s Sturm Graz after losing 3-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund in its two opening fixtures, hosts Aston Villa on November 6.

Monaco hammers five goals past Red Star Belgrade

Monaco forward Takumi Minamino netted a double as it overpowered visiting side Red Star Belgrade 5-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday to advance to seven points from its first three matches of this season’s competition.

Breel Embolo, Wilfried Singo, with a stinging long range shot, and Maghnes Akliouche were the other scorers as the host side enjoyed a deserved victory in a contest in which it missed several other good chances.

Monaco’s Takumi Minamino, right, and Red Star’s Uros Spajic fight for the ball during the Champions League match at the Louis II stadium, in Monaco. | Photo Credit: AP

Red Star, which scored with a penalty from Cherif Ndiaye after the Senegal international had been brought down by Thilo Kehrer, frustrated its host for much of the first half but capitulated after the break and were fortunate to go home only conceding five goals.

Minamino sprung the offside trap to put Monaco ahead after 20 minutes but the lead lasted seven minutes before Ndiaye’s spotkick.

Embolo restored the host’s advantage in stoppage time at the end of the first half with his first goal of the season and Singo’s 35-yard thunderbolt nine minutes after the break stretched the lead.

Defensive slips allowed Embolo to set up Japan international Minamino for his second 20 minutes from time, with Akliouche rounding off the triumph with a shot that went in off the post in the final action of the game.

The Serbian champion, which hosts Barcelona in its next Champions League outing on November 6, has lost all three of their league-stage matches this season.

Monaco’s next Champions League assignment is away at Bologna on November 5.