4 takeaways from Tuesday's Champions League action

With the ratings-grabbing Barcelona versus Manchester City - or, more aptly, Pep Guardiola's emotional return to the Camp Nou - staged Wednesday, Tuesday's spate of Champions League group-stage fixtures kicked off amid relatively little fanfare.

But the continent's premier competition didn't disappoint.

Here are four takeaways from the beginning of the group stage's third round of fixtures:

The Foxes satisfy their expensive taste

The Foxes' palates have become too sophisticated for dates in Hull and with Burnley, but Claudio Ranieri's preference for the more lucrative evenings has paid off.

Incredibly, Leicester City has won more points in three Champions League tilts (nine) than it has so far in its Premier League title defence (eight), and its latest victim in European duty was FC Copenhagen.

Riyad Mahrez's intelligent 40th-minute flick was enough to extinguish the Danes' flares and fervour at the King Power Stadium, and the home side is still relishing testing itself in the Champions League.

"Unbelievable atmosphere once again," reflected Leicester skipper Wes Morgan. "The crowd really turned out and cheered us on, even the Copenhagen fans were fantastic. It's nights like this you live for."

Dortmund's depth and drudgery earn 3 points

Thomas Tuchel's ranks boast youthful exuberance and unrelenting pace that make them one of the finest collectives to watch on the continent, but it's their inclination to get stuck in and do the dirty work that's eked out so many wins for Borussia Dortmund.

Despite counting Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus among its throng in the treatment room, Dortmund ran out a 2-1 winner - barely - at Sporting Lisbon.

The second goal epitomised the work ethic that Tuchel demands: Sporting was unable to get the ball out of its own third, with Julian Weigl squeezing possession from the often unflappable William Carvalho before jinking his way into space and then dispatching a sweet 20-yarder.

Related - Watch: Weigl schools Sporting before scoring stunner

Dortmund has been banging in the goals this term, and with Weigl, Guerreiro, Ousmane Dembele, Emre Mor, Christian Pulisic, and Matthias Ginter in its number, there's no reason the North Rhine-Westphalia outfit can't strongly compete in Europe for the next decade.

That is, if Bayern Munich doesn't conduct its usual shopping trips down the Westfalenstadion.

Elsewhere in Group F, Real Madrid completed the formality of giving Legia Warsaw a drubbing via a 5-1 scoreline at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nasri breathing life into Sevilla

After Samir Nasri wheezed his way around the Manchester City training pitches in the summer, Pep Guardiola was quick to jettison a player he deemed overweight. Now, Nasri's energised Sevilla in his loan spell.

"The team breathes when he has the ball," as his manager Jorge Sampaoli eloquently put it after Sunday's 3-2 away win at CD Leganes.

The Frenchman was at it again at Dinamo Zagreb for his first Champions League goal since December 2014, sweeping home Mariano's delivery on 37 minutes:

In a frugal evening in Group H, Juventus eked out a 1-0 win in Croatia despite Olympique Lyonnais' clear superiority - which was once spurned by a Gianluigi Buffon penalty save - and Szymon Marciniak's poor refereeing.

Related - Watch: Buffon saves 1st Champions League penalty in 13 years

Lloris has it covered, but Group E's an open goal

What. A. Save.

Hugo Lloris, such a dependable performer between the sticks for Tottenham Hotspur, kept his side's hopes of vaulting out of Group E well within reach through athleticism and awareness of the highest order at Bayer Leverkusen:

Leverkusen was deserving of the three points at the BayArena, but Tottenham took a fortuitous share of the spoils in a 0-0 draw.

Progression remains attainable for every team in the quartet halfway through their group-stage commitments, so Spurs will hope the two home matches in the remaining fixtures can usher them into a spot in the knockout rounds - the furthest they've reached since 2011's quarter-final berth.