UCL: Liverpool Stay Perfect, Raphinha Hat-Trick Stuns Bayern, Man City Score Five
Liverpool are one of only two teams still with a perfect record after their 1-0 defeat of Leipzig on Wednesday. Manchester City are among the clutch of clubs just two points behind early pacesetters Aston Villa and the Reds in the inaugural league phase table following their 5-0 defeat of Sparta Praha, while Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona beat Bayern 4-1.
Here is a round up of all the action from Matchday 3.
Atalanta 0-0 Celtic
Celtic withstood lengthy spells of intense Atalanta pressure to earn their first away point of the campaign in Bergamo. Visiting goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel saw Mario Pašalić’s header thump the underside of his crossbar before making an outstanding save to stop Mateo Retegui from nodding in.
The Hoops, meanwhile, went close when Álex Valle’s strike was tipped behind by Marco Carnesecchi. La Dea kept a fifth clean sheet in their last six European matches and are yet to concede in this season’s competition.
Player of the Match: Éderson (Atalanta)
Brest 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Pierre Lees-Melou’s crisp volley ensured the points were shared in a gripping contest. Leverkusen’s early pressure was rewarded when Florian Wirtz drilled a low effort into the bottom corner after a neat Die Werkself move midway through the first half.
But Brest’s debut European campaign continued in style 15 minutes later via Lees-Melou’s classy finish from just outside the box following Mahdi Camara’s delivery. The hosts came closest to finding a winner in the second half, with Matěj Kovář denying Camara and sub Mama Baldé firing into the side netting.
Player of the Match: Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen)
Atlético de Madrid 1-3 LOSC Lille
Lille came from behind to defeat Atlético just three weeks after also beating their city neighbours Real Madrid.
Julián Alvarez slotted in an early opener for the hosts – his first Atleti Champions League goal – but Diego Simeone’s side then missed a series of chances and were punished when Edon Zhegrova curled in a second-half equaliser for the visitors. The contest was settled when Jonathan David coolly converted a penalty before scrambling in another late on.
Player of the Match: Lucas Chevalier (Lille)
Young Boys 0-1 Inter
Substitute Marcus Thuram struck three minutes into added time to earn Inter maximum points in Bern. The Nerazzurri saw Marko Arnautović brilliantly denied from the penalty spot by David von Ballmoos after the break, with the Young Boys keeper leaping to block the rebound from Denzel Dumfries.
In response, Joel Monteiro’s fine solo run ended with the home forward striking against the foot of a post. But on a night where the sides shared over 35 attempts on goal, Thuram stole in to connect with Federico Dimarco’s cross, denying Young Boys a first point of the league phase and securing Inter’s second win.
Player of the Match: Nicolò Barella (Inter)
Barcelona 4-1 Bayern München
Raphinha’s stunning hat-trick helped secure an emphatic victory to end Barcelona’s losing run in this fixture. The Blaugrana, beaten in their last six meetings against the Bavarian side, got off to a dream start in the opening minute when the Brazilian international rounded Manuel Neuer after latching onto a Fermín López through ball.
Harry Kane levelled via an acrobatic volley before former Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski applied a cool finish to López’s deft touch. Barça skipper Raphinha put the result beyond doubt, claiming the match ball in the process, with two impressive strikes in the space of 11 minutes either side of half-time.
Player of the Match: Raphinha (Barcelona)
Salzburg 0-2 GNK Dinamo
GNK Dinamo claimed their first away win in the Champions League competition proper in almost 26 years thanks to goals from Sandro Kulenović and Bruno Petković.
Kulenović fired the visitors ahead in Austria with a clinical left-footed strike, before the hosts found themselves a player as well as a goal down when Alexander Schlager was shown a red card. Petković then came on from the bench to add a second with a superb right-footed effort after linking up brilliantly with Stefan Ristovski.
Player of the Match: Stefan Ristovski (GNK Dinamo)
Manchester City 5-0 Sparta Praha
Erling Haaland scored an audacious back-heel volley as Manchester City eased to a comfortable 5-0 win over Sparta Praha. Phil Foden put City ahead with their first attack less than three minutes in, but it took until just before the hour for Haaland’s acrobatics to extend the lead further.
John Stones’ header then made it three before a fine second from Haaland – his 44th Champions League goal in 42 appearances – and a late Matheus Nunes penalty rounded off a handsome victory.
Player of the Match: Phil Foden (Man City)
Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool
Darwin Núñez prodded in the 27th-minute winner to keep Liverpool perfect. Leipzig No1 Péter Gulácsi tipped headers from the Uruguay forward and Virgil van Dijk over the bar after the opener, as well as twice denying Cody Gakpo with exceptional second-half saves.
Alexis Mac Allister struck the crossbar for the visitors from distance following a delightful exchange with Dominik Szoboszlai, and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher intervened acrobatically to stop Xavi Simons and Benjamin Šeško from equalising.
Benfica 1-3 Feyenoord
Feyenoord inflicted a first competitive home defeat in almost a year on Benfica, as the Dutch side won their second successive away match in the competition. Ayase Ueda opened the scoring with a fine strike from Igor Paixão’s cross, before a string of neat passes for Feyenoord set up Antoni Milambo to double their advantage.
Kerem Aktürkoglu halved the deficit midway through the second half to put the hosts back into contention. But Milambo sealed the win with his second in added time, ending coach Bruno Lage’s winning run since joining Benfica last month.
Player of the Match: Antoni Milambo (Feyenoord)
