Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero suffered a fractured rib and is in hospital after being involved as a passenger in a car accident in Amsterdam, reports Argentine news outlet TyC Sports, as well as Fabrizio Romano of the Guardian and Sky Sports.

Aguero was reportedly in a taxi heading to the airport for a flight back to Manchester after attending a concert for Colombian singer Maluma, with whom he was photographed earlier in the evening. TyC Sports reports Aguero asked the driver to slow down and then put on his seat belt, before the taxi driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a pole.

TyC Sports adds Aguero could face around two months of recovery.

Aguero and his City teammates were recently in Holland for a Champions League group stage match against Feyenoord, which they won 4-0. He was set to return to Manchester before a trip to London for a Saturday encounter with Chelsea. Afterward, Aguero would be turning his focus to a pair of critical World Cup qualifying matches for Argentina against Peru and Paraguay.

The accident likely sees him miss all three fixtures, and potentially a few more as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered its second major loss in the last 24 hours; the club announced earlier that Benjamin Mendy was also ruled out long-term with a ruptured ACL.

Aguero has been a critical part of Manchester City’s strong start to the 2017-18 Premier League campaign. The 29-year-old has six goals and three assists in the Premier League over six matches, as well as one goal in two Champions League tilts. In his absence, Gabriel Jesus will likely slot in up top.

For Jorge Sampaoli, losing Aguero sees Argentina without its preferred striker up top, but with Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala available for selection, the Albiceleste should still be able to field a pair of strong attacking players. Mauro Icardi is another option.

Argentina will hope Aguero’s absence does not cause major issues, however, as the usually-dominant South American outfit sits fifth in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying table.

Not since Chelsea won the Champions League in 2011-12 has a Premier League club reached the competition’s final. In the five years since that unlikely triumph, England’s biggest outfits have all capitulated in the face of Europe’s best.

But something is different this year. Through two matchdays, none of the Premier League’s five representatives in the tournament have lost. They’ve collected 26 out of a possible 30 points, some of them coming in tough atmospheres away from home.

Liverpool’s the only exception. Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to make the most of their opportunities and had to share points with Sevilla and Spartak Moscow.

For the rest of the pack, there’s sky-high optimism moving forward. Here’s what each side has done to re-establish their continental credentials:

United displaying scoring prowess

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho need not worry about complacency in the final third. Weeks after he criticised his players for indulging in “Playstation football,” the Red Devils carved up CSKA Moscow within the first 30 minutes.

With Ashley Young and Daley Blind occupying the flanks in a 3-4-3 formation, both Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan enjoyed more time and space in central areas, along with support from their wider teammates.

Romelu Lukaku continued to prove himself as a capable poacher as well. It may not be fancy, but his exploits in the box are efficient. He’s now scored 10 goals in his first 10 competitive appearances for United.

Yet more encouragement came in the form of Martial, whose reclamation project is coming together well. By whipping inviting crosses with his right foot, the Frenchman set up both of Lukaku’s goals. He seemed freer than he’s been all season in the Russian capital.

Chelsea playing like a unit

Unintimidated by Atletico Madrid’s new ground, Chelsea staged a complete 90-minute performance at the Wanda Metropolitano. The visitor asserted its dominance in midfield, with Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante, and Tiemoue Bakayoko eating up space. Chelsea’s intensity level rivalled Atletico’s on its best day – and Wednesday clearly wasn’t.

Kante played further up than usual, while Fabregas dropped back to facilitate the passing game as Chelsea’s deep-lying midfielder. Eden Hazard, back from ankle surgery, chased and harried his opponents while providing vital support to standalone striker Alvaro Morata.

Even though the Blues conceded first, they were the better team. Second-half goals from Morata and substitute Michy Batshuayi ensured the result ended in Chelsea’s favour.

Guardiola’s philosophy working at City

In one of Manchester City’s most fashionable outings since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, Pep Guardiola’s scintillating side ripped apart Feyenoord – the reigning Dutch champion – on the first matchday. The Spaniard’s thirst for flowing football was quenched, as City threaded passes and attacked the goal with wicked ruthlessness. It was a night that affirmed Guardiola’s philosophy had come alive.

“It says a lot about how Guardiola wants to play and the number of players he commits to attack that centre-half John Stones should open and finish the scoring with two headers,” The Telegraph’s James Ducker wrote after the match.

Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk was much more workmanlike than the 4-0 evisceration of Feyenoord, but it kept City on the path to Group F supremacy.

Kane’s Tottenham alive in Group of Death

Perhaps Harry Kane will remember it as the siege in Cyprus. His perfect hat-trick against APOEL Nicosia – scored with both feet and his head – provided yet more supporting evidence that he’s now world-class.

Kane fueled wins over the Cypriot side, and more impressively, Borussia Dortmund, putting Tottenham in great position to escape from the Champions League’s Group of Death. With a pair of matches against Real Madrid up next – and domestic meetings with Liverpool and United sandwiched in between – Spurs needed a full six points heading into an unpredictable month of fixtures.

The fact that Tottenham dispatched APOEL with seven players unavailable should give manager Mauricio Pochettino plenty of encouragement. Even the likes of Moussa Sissoko, derided since his switch from Newcastle, began to show some mettle in midfield in the absence of Mousa Dembele.

But the night – just as the season has – belonged to Kane. With the English international scoring at a searing rate, there’s no telling how far Tottenham can go.

Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo have earned the majority of the headlines in the early part of the 2017-18 Champions League group stage, but plenty others have made a name for themselves as well.

Here are four key performers who’ve become protagonists for their sides:

Vincent Aboubakar (Porto)

Porto’s Financial Fair Play-enforced sale of Andre Silva left a gaping hole in the attack, but Vincent Aboubakar, returning from a loan spell at Besiktas, has filled the void nicely. With a two clutch goals in Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Monaco, the Cameroonian showed he has the killer instinct to lead the side.

He’s a far less technical player than predecessor Silva, whose hold-up play is just as good as his goal-scoring ability, but Aboubakar’s directness and speed have helped Porto win matches in both the Primeira Liga and the Champions League.

The 25-year-old scored the first through sheer determination, firing twice before converting an inviting rebound. He then beat defender Kamil Glik in a foot race to bang in his second of the night. It was a virtuoso outing from Aboubakar, who registered more shots on target (3) than Monaco’s entire team (2).

Anderson Talisca (Besiktas)

With a tally in each of Besiktas’ first two matches of the continental campaign, playmaker Talisca has proven as much a poacher as a visionary. Against Porto and RB Leipzig, the 23-year-old produced a pair of sturdy headers off of Ricardo Quaresma’s pinpoint deliveries.

Despite starting from a withdrawn position behind Cenk Tosun – who’s impressed in his own right with a goal and an assist thus far – Talisca found enough room for himself to do damage in the penalty box.

His smart use of the pitch and stellar movement put him in a position to score the second of the Turkish outfit’s two goals against the German visitor. Talisca began the sequence that led to his own header, spraying the ball out wide to Quaresma before running onto the subsequent cross. It confirmed he can create and finish chances.

Manchester United reportedly sniffed around in the summer to see if Talisca was available – Jose Mourinho is apparently a big admirer of the Portuguese talent – but nothing materialised. Talisca’s currently on loan from Benfica, and, based on what we’ve seen in the Champions League, the Lisbon giant stands to collect a hefty fee for the player in 2018.

Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla)

None of Wissam Ben Yedder’s strikes deserved a spot on the highlight reels, but as a complete package, the Frenchman’s hat-trick performance was special. No player in Sevilla’s history had scored three goals in a single Champions League match before Ben Yedder stepped onto the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan pitch on Tuesday evening.

One of Monchi’s final signings as Sevilla’s sporting director, the 27-year-old arrived in Andalusia last year for a measly €9 million.

With five goals in this season’s Champions League, Ben Yedder is surprisingly two away from setting the club’s all-time scoring record in the competition – such is Sevilla’s lack of history in the tournament.

Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Granted the license to roam about the pitch, Taison made Napoli pay in a shocking win over the Italian side two weeks ago. He popped up all over and maintained a 92 percent passing rate while facilitating play in the opponent’s half of the field.

He wasn’t as effective against Manchester City on Tuesday, but was still a central component in the Ukrainian side’s attack. He even showed good defensive awareness, attempting more tackles (5) than dribbles (4) at the Etihad.

There may not be much hoopla about Taison, who, at 29 years old, is entering the final chapter of his career. However, he’s been a valuable servant for Shakhtar, making 177 appearances in all competitions for the club since arriving in the industrial city in 2013.

Unruly travelling supporters of Liverpool and Manchester United could be in for an extended stay in Russia if they’re found guilty of hooliganism during this week’s trip to Moscow.

An estimated 2,000 fans from both clubs are expected to travel to the Russian capital, where Liverpool takes on Spartak Moscow on Tuesday before Manchester United clashes with CSKA Moscow the following day.

It’s believed that both Premier League teams have coordinated with Russian security forces to avoid trouble, according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian.

Fans of the Moscow-based clubs have been far from innocent in recent times, with UEFA charging Spartak earlier this month after a flare was shot toward a match official during a Champions League encounter with Maribor.

But the head of the Russian Football Union’s security committee, Vladimir Markin, delivered a stern warning for anyone found guilty of hooliganism, saying that English supporters will face the same “suitable punishment” that would normally be issued to Russian citizens.

“I don’t want to scare anyone but I warn those who plan to come here not to support their side and see the country but to commit hooliganism: the law is the same for all, not just for Russians,” Markin said. “Those who break it will face a suitable punishment, possibly in the form of a long stay in Russia, in conditions our guests won’t like.”

Liverpool and United fans have also been warned against wearing team colours and travelling alone in Moscow.

There’s been a heightened sense that there could possibly be trouble between supporters from the two nations since the European Championship in the summer of 2016, when various scuffles between fans broke out on the streets of Marseille ahead of England’s match against Russia. Violence also occurred inside the stadium when Russian supporters spilled over into the English section at the Stade Velodrome and began kicking and punching while fans ran for safety.

However, last season provided a glimmer of hope over security concerns when United fans were welcomed with open arms ahead of a Europa League fixture in Rostov, Russia, where blankets were handed out to the travelling supporters.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)