Cristiano Ronaldo welcomed the club that gave him his first start as a professional footballer to the home of the club that he has said he hopes will give him his last. Sporting CP visited the Bernabeu Wednesday and it looked an awful lot like they would leave with three points.

The defending champs are down at home to Sporting on Bruno Cesar's deft finish. #UCLonFOX https://t.co/baIPjPGbyU

Celtic knew going into their Champions League encounter with Barcelona that getting a result against a side reinforced by the return of Brazilian great Neymar would be an extremely difficult task. 

They couldn’t have imagined just how well the MSN reunion would go for the Blaugrana.

The attacking trio were nothing short of sensational at the Camp Nou, playing a part in all seven Barca goals.

Neymar started things off by setting up Messi’s first, the Argentine finishing with a powerful left-footed shot.

Barcelona are at home against a team that recently lost to a team from Gibraltar. You can guess how it's going.

Messi Neymar Messi Neymar Messi =  It's that easy. #UCL @HeinekenSoccer #UCLonFOX https://t.co/Mm2g5qriQU

It isn't surprising that Neymar took this free kick because it's about the same angle that he scored from in the Olympic gold medal match against Germany.

He's also one of the best players in the world. It is surprising that Neymar took this free kick because Lionel Messi was standing over it as well, and he's the best player in the world and was also on a hat trick.

Neymar recreated his Olympic goal against Celtic, and, for the record, Messi did eventually get his hat trick.

Atletico Madrid beat PSV 1-0 in their Champions League group stage opener, but PSV had a chance to draw level in stoppage time of the first half when Luciano Narsingh drew a penalty. Andres Guardado stepped up to take it for PSV.

And he had it saved.

Andre's Guardado usually scores his penalties. Not today

https://t.co/OJNV5IpIMS

Having warded off interest from Barcelona and Sevilla to sign a rejuvenated Hatem Ben Arfa, Paris Saint-Germain appeared to be the perfect destination for the mercurial 29-year-old playmaker. Ben Arfa signed for PSG as a free agent after experiencing a renaissance last year with Nice, tallying 17 goals and six assists in Ligue 1.

This all, of course, followed a tumultuous four years in England where he was part footballing genius, part disinterested delinquent.

Yaya Toure reportedly told Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola back in May that he was determined to fight for his future at the club and see out the remaining year of his contract.

The pot just got bigger for clubs in the UEFA Champions League — a lot bigger.

The Champions League groups were drawn in Mónaco on Thursday but the big news was the unveiling of the official match ball for the competition. The ball keeps the traditional star figures, this time in green, but it’s the writing in the stars that’s sure to capture the attention.

The stars have characterized the official Champions League ball in recent years, of course, accompanied by the logo of this UEFA tournament.

UEFA have tweaked the Champions League rules to benefit the big clubs and the big leagues. This comes as a surprise to approximately nobody.

Per ESPNFC: