UEFA Champions League Round-up: Inter and Manchester City win, Victor Osimhen nets Hat-trick for Galatasaray
Inter and Manchester City triumphed again, Club Brugge and Barcelona drew a thriller, Victor Osimhen scored a super hat-trick for Galatasaray and there were memorable results for Pafos and Qarabağ as UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 concluded in dramatic fashion.
Here is a round up of all the action from Wednesday night.
Inter 2-1 Kairat Almaty
Inter maintained their perfect start with a narrow victory over Kairat Almaty at San Siro.
The hosts found visiting goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov in fine form, but eventually beat him in the 45th minute, with Lautaro Martínez scrambling the ball in. Kairat levelled within ten minutes of the restart, Ofri Arad heading in after the Nerazzurri failed to clear a corner – the first goal they had conceded in this season’s competition.
However, Cristian Chivu’s side sealed victory 12 minutes later when Carlos Augusto drilled into the net from range.
Player of the Match: Carlos Augusto (Inter)
Manchester City 4-1 Borussia Dortmund
A pair of impressive Phil Foden strikes helped the Cityzens inflict Dortmund’s first defeat of this league phase.
The English midfielder swept in expertly midway through the first half, with the in-form Erling Haaland grabbing his 27th goal for club and country this season seven minutes later with a powerful effort.
Foden claimed his first Champions League double with almost a carbon copy of his opener shortly before the hour, before Waldemar Anton cut the deficit by turning in Julian Ryerson’s cross. Substitute Rayan Cherki restored the hosts’ three-goal lead in added time after a surging run.
Player of the Match: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Club Brugge 3-3 Barcelona
Barcelona equalised three times to eventually draw a scintillating contest in Bruges. After Nicolo Tresoldi and Ferran Torres traded early strikes, Carlos Forbs curled in from a counterattack to give Club Brugge a half-time lead.
Lamine Yamal then completed a dazzling run by levelling, but a delicate Forbs finish restored the hosts’ advantage before Yamal’s effort diverted in off Christos Tzolis.
Fermín López, Jules Koundé and Eric García hit the woodwork for Barça, who have seven points – three more than the Belgian side.
Player of the Match: Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge)
Ajax 0-3 Galatasaray
Victor Osimhen’s clinical hat-trick was the difference as Galatasaray won in Amsterdam.
The prolific striker went close in the first half but was denied by a fine save from Remko Pasveer. But he stooped to head in a wonderful cross from Leroy Sané to open the scoring before firing in two penalties given for handballs.
Osimhen is the second player to score a treble in the Champions League for Galatasaray after Burak Yılmaz against CFR Cluj in 2012.
Player of the Match: Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray)
Qarabağ 2-2 Chelsea
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s crisp finish allowed Chelsea to claim a share of the spoils in a topsy-turvy encounter in Baku.
Estêvão gave the visitors the lead after squeezing his 16th-minute strike just inside the upright but Qarabağ hit back with two goals in ten minutes through Leandro Andrade’s precise effort and a cool Marko Janković penalty.
Soon after the interval, two of Enzo Maresca’s half-time replacements combined to level the contest, Garnacho firing in after good work by Liam Delap. Both sides went close to a winner in added time, with Garnacho’s acrobatic volley testing Mateusz Kochalski’s reactions.
Player of the Match: Estêvão (Chelsea)
Pafos 1-0 Villarreal
Derrick Luckassen’s header earned Pafos their first-ever win in the Champions League proper as the competition debutants moved to five points with victory in Limassol.
The visitors went closest during a quiet first half, goalkeeper Neofytos Michael using a leg to impressively repel Pape Gueye’s shot from inside the box in a one-on-one.
Defender Luckassen met Ken Sema’s corner to score a minute after the restart, with Nicolas Pépé shooting narrowly wide for two-time semi-finalists Villarreal, who remain on one point.
Player of the Match: Derrick Luckassen (Pafos)
Newcastle 2-0 Athletic Club
Newcastle made it three wins and clean sheets in a row to move up to sixth in the table with victory at St James’ Park.
The hosts went ahead when Dan Burn’s long-range header curled inside the post following a Kieran Tripper free-kick. Eddie Howe’s team doubled their advantage in the second period thanks to another header from Joelinton, putting away a Harvey Barnes cross.
Substitute Nico Serrano had three late attempts in vain for the visitors, who remain on three points from four games.
Player of the Match: Sandro Tonali (Newcastle)
Benfica 0-1 Leverkusen
Benfica remain without a point in the league phase after a lack of cutting edge cost them in a defeat by Leverkusen in Lisbon.
José Mourinho’s side dominated proceedings but spurned some good chances, Dodi Lukébakio and Nicolás Otamendi hitting the bar in the first half before Mark Flekken denied Vangelis Pavlidis after the break.
Leverkusen had struggled to threaten before Patrik Schick pounced on a loose clearance to head into the net shortly after the hour to stun the hosts and secure three points.
Player of the Match: Ibrahim Maza (Leverkusen)
Marseille 0-1 Atalanta
Lazar Samardžić came off the bench to snatch a late win for Atalanta with a stunning long-range strike. An entertaining draw was the cards until the Serbian winger cut inside on the break and unleashed an unstoppable curling effort.
Atalanta dominated throughout and could easily have gone ahead, but Charles De Ketelaere missed an early penalty.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nikola Krstović both also spurned chances but it was Samardžić who made the telling difference.
Player of the Match: Lazar Samardžić (Atalanta)
