Alphonso Davies' Bayern Munich beats Jonathan David's Atletico Madrid in Champions League clash
Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David finally played against each other for the first time ever on Tuesday when Bayern Munich visited Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Canada's two biggest stars only shared the pitch for about four minutes, though, as Bayern went to Estadio Metropolitano and came away with a 2-0 victory.
Davies started on Bayern's left wing and went 78 minutes for the German champions, while David came off the Spanish side's bench in the 74th. Bayern were already up two by the time David came on, and he was not able to spark a late turnaround.
Lennart Karl scored first for the visitors nine minutes after halftime, before Konrad Laimer doubled their lead in the 74th - moments before David replaced Julian Alvarez. National team boss Jesse Marsch,who named both David and Davies to his November squad for Nations League matches against Guatemalaon Tuesday, was watching proudly from his home in Mexico.
"I would like to say that we are developing the game so that we can continue to see Canadians matching up against each other at at the highest level, whether it's in the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, go down the list, and certainly Champions League," Marsch said when he spoke to the media Tuesday, after his squad reveal but before kickoff. "We have to also acknowledge the fact that guys like Alphonso and Jonathan are generational talents, very unique for any country to have two guys like that.
Certainly exciting, but those guys are really special players and special people, and it's exciting for us as Canadians and fans of the national team. Let's hope that for years to come we can continue to develop players like them but let's not take take that for granted either.
The German side now sit at 2-2-0 through the first four matches, previously beating Bodo/Glimt before drawing with both Viking SK and Arsenal. They have not lost a competitive match in any competition so far this season, drawing 2-2 in Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday to stay top of the Bundesliga table before turning their attention to Europe.
Recent Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane, who assisted Davies' goal against Arsenal recently, had a chance to make Champions League history on Tuesday but came up just short. If he had scored against Atleti it would have been his 11th UCL game in a row with a goal, which would equal Cristiano Ronaldo's record set between 2017 and 2018 for Real Madrid.
He can start a new one against Lille on Nov. Atleti drop to 1-1-2 after four Champions League games.
Bayern pull four points clear with a big road win, the first team to win away at Estadio Metropolitano this season. Atleti's only two prior defeats this season have been on the road - a 2-1 defeat away to Liverpool in David's debut for the club, and a 3-0 loss away to Athletic Bilbao a few days prior."