*Arsenal Grind Out Narrow Win
Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick and Ousmane Dembélé also starred as holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) began their quest to win a third successive Champions League title by thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Wednesday (today).
Last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Dembélé had scored twice by the midway point of the first half in the French capital, and then set up Spain’s World Cup final hero Torres to make it 3-0 by the interval.
Torres, a close-season signing from Barcelona, added two more just after the restart to complete his hat-trick before the hour mark, with Suleiman Camara pulling one back for the Slovakian champions and Fabián Ruiz then sealing PSG’s win.
Raphinha Shines In Barcelona Thumping Of Feyenoord
Raphinha let his goals do the talking after being omitted from the Ballon d’Or shortlist, striking twice as Barcelona eased to a 5-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League.
The Brazilian was a surprise omission from this week’s 30-strong list of candidates for the prestigious award but brushed any disappointment aside to continue his early season hot streak at a rain-soaked Camp Nou.
The forward finished brilliantly in the third minute and added a second just before the hour mark to down the Eredivisie side and take his tally to eight goals in six outings at the start of the campaign.
The summer signing Karim Adeyemi produced a stunning finish, Lamine Yamal stroked a free-kick through a gap in the Dutch wall and recent arrival Gabriel Jesus opened his account for the club just two minutes after stepping off the bench.
There was little to celebrate for Coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst on his Barça return but Sem Steijn gave the visiting fans something to enjoy when he poked in at far post late on.
“The most important thing is we are playing like a team, like one unit,” the Barcelona head coach, Hansi Flick, said afterwards.
“We controlled the game, we are dominant and this is fantastic to see. This is our style and how we want to play.”
Liverpool Overcome Plucky Atletico
Alexis Mac Allister scored an emphatic winner as Liverpool began their Champions League campaign with a win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai levelled for Liverpool after Marcos Llorente had initially given Atletico the lead before Mac Allister fired in from outside the box to give Coach Andoni Iraola his first win at home for Liverpool and his first Champions League victory as manager.
Mac Allister had dominated the pre-match headlines after his candid press conference on Tuesday, in which the Argentinian said he was “sad” that Liverpool did not offer him a new contract over the summer.
But the 27-year-old, who is contracted at Anfield until 2028, did his talking on the pitch on Wednesday with a superb left-footed strike that gave goalie Jan Oblak no chance.
With two draws and a win in the Premier League, Liverpool remain unbeaten under Iraola but for the third time in four games, they conceded first. Milos Kerkez failed to track Llorente, who got on the end of Julian Alvarez’s ball and finished past Alisson to score at Anfield again.
Llorente named his dog “Anfield” after scoring twice against Liverpool in 2020 when Diego Simeone’s side knocked them out of the Champions League.
Of Llorente’s 10 Champions League goals, five have now remarkably come at Liverpool’s Merseyside home.
Alisson did well to deny Alvarez – who was making his first Atletico start of the season after failing to get his desired move to Barcelona – from distance and Liverpool levelled before the break after Kerkez did brilliantly to win the ball back and Ronald Araujo played a smart back-heel to tee up Szobozlai, who finished well.
Shortly after half-time, Bradley Barcola – making his first Liverpool start since his £123m move from PSG – missed a glorious opportunity when he fired wide but a minute later, Mac Allister got the winner when he got on the end of a loose ball and rifled home in front of the Kop.
There was a slight scare for Liverpool when Barcola went down with cramp and the Frenchman had to be replaced on the hour mark but Iraola’s side held on for a crucial three points.
*PHOTO CAPTION:Dominik Szoboszlai scores Liverpool’s equaliser late in the first half.
Champions League – League Phase:
*Barcelona – Feyenoord 5-1
*Stuttgart – Viking 3-1
*Liverpool – Atl. Madrid 2-1
*Napoli – Arsenal 0-1
*PSG – Slovan Bratislava 6-1
*Sporting CP – Galatasaray 3-1
