The Champions League returned on Tuesday with plenty of big clubs hitting the pitch.
Here is what went down.
Bayern edge past 10-man PSG
Scorers: Min-jae 38'. Red: Dembele 56′
The blockbuster clash of the night saw Bayern Munich welcome PSG to town and the hosts ground out a 1-0 victory.
However, the opening 25 minutes failed to deliver. The hosts dominated possession of the ball, but neither side produced clear-cut chances.
A failed punch by goalkeeper Matvei Safonov allowed an unlikely hero to break the deadlock as Kim Min-jae headed the ball home just before the break.
And while Bayern continued to run the show, it was still a shaky lead for the hosts.
However, things turned worse for the visitors when Ousmane Dembele was shown a second yellow for a challenge on Alphonso Davies and sent packing with 30 minutes to go.
Jamal Musiala later came inches away from doubling the lead but saw his effort hit off the woodwork in the late stages.
PSG’s attack, even when Dembele was still on the pitch, failed to deliver and fell short of the comeback.
Man City collapse against Feyenoord
Scorers: Haland 44' (P), 53', Gundogan 50'; Hadj-Moussa 75'; Gimenez 82', Hancko 89'
Pep Guardiola’s struggling Man City will be under the microscope again as his side collapsed to draw Feyenoord 3-3.
Despite dominating possession of the ball, the hosts needed a bit of luck to break the deadlock.
Erling Haaland stepped up with the pressure on and converted from the penalty spot for his 50th UCL goal involvement.
Ilkay Gundogan then took whatever half-time talk the team had and made himself an example with a rocket from outside the box,
Haaland must have earned an earful in the locker room too, comfortably netting his second of the night minutes later.
But then Feyenoord finally turned up.
The visitors erased Ederson’s clean sheet hopes when Anis Hadj-Moussa picked up on a lucky bounce and rolled home into an empty net.
Santiago Gimenez then ensured things would end dramatically after chesting the ball home for 3-2.
And boy did the drama deliver. David Hancko scored the equaliser as Ederson was again caught out of his net.
Arsenal silence Gyokeres and Sporting
Scorers: Inacio 47'; Martinelli 7', Havertz 22', Gabriel 45+1', Saka 65' (P), Trossard 83'
The Gunners traveled to Sporting and produced a dominant performance, winning 5-1 on the night.
It was Gabriel Martinelli who handed the visitors an early lead and also Arsenal’s first goal away from home in the competition after 415 minutes.
Mikel Arteta’s side then doubled things midway through the first half as Bukayo Saka set up Kai Havert for his eighth goal of the season.
A second Gabriel then joined in on the action as the Gunners’ defender scored a third and celebrated in style of the usually lethal Sporting striker, Viktor Gyokeres.
With Gyokeres virtually invisible all game, Sporting relied on a different name to pull one back as Goncalo Inacio scored minutes after the restart.
But the visitors restored their three goal lead when Saka got on the scoresheet with a penalty just after the hour mark.
Leandro Trossard’s header was eventually the fifth of the night for the Gunners and extended the party for Arteta and company on a convincing night.
Barcelona cruise past Brest
Scorers: Lewandowski 10' (P), 90+2', Olmo 66'
Barcelona welcomed Brest to town pulled off a routine 3-0 with their star men shining.
A shot from the penalty spot is what handed them the lead as Robert Lewandowski marked his 100th goal in the competition.
Brest was able to stifle the Spaniards’ dominance, but not until Dani Olmo had his say and doubled the lead after the break.
The EURO 2024 star received a ball in the box and pulled off some brilliant close-control skills to beat two defenders and roll home.
Lewandowski then made sure it was 101 goals to his name as he sits amongst the competition’s elite to round out the victory.
Inter edge past Leipzig
Scorers: Lukeba 27' (OG)
Inter ground out a dismal 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig by the skin of their teeth.
The hosts needed a bit of luck to open the scoring, though, and a free-kick deflected off of Castello Lukeba for the decisive goal.
RB Leipzig only registered one shot on target throughout the entire 90 minutes and will feel hard done by given the result.
Inter, after failing to get on the scoresheet themselves, will likely go and do some further tinkering.
Atalanta thump six past Young Boys
Scorers: M'boussy 11'; Retegui 9', 39', De Ketelaere 28', 56', Kolasinac 31', Samardzic 90'
Atalanta showed why they are one of the best in Europe this season with a 6-1 victory over Young Boys.
The clash started at a flying rate, with both teams scoring within two minutes.
Mateo Retegui scored his first in the competition and 13th of the season before Silvere Ganvoula M’boussy responded with a header as Atalanta finally conceded.
Another two-minute spell then delivered more goals, both of which arrived via the visitors.
Charles De Ketalaere then handed Atalanta the lead with his first of the night before Sead Kolasinac ensured his side were in control.
A second from Retegui just before the break put the Italians in cruise control before De Ketelaere also secured a brace. The Belgian was notably involved in all five goals.
Lazar Samardzic later piled on the misery with a late sixth.,
Leverkusen show no mercy to Salzburg
Scorers: Wirtz 8′ (P), 30′, Grimaldo 11′, Schick 61′, Garcia 72′
Bayer Leverkusen’s first-ever UCL victory against RB Salzburg ended in a dominant 5-0 win.
Wizard Florian Wirtz got the hosts off to the best start possible after converting an early penalty.
The hosts doubled their lead minutes later via Alejandro Grimaldo, whose free-kick from outside the box left goalkeeper Alexander Schlager frozen.
Wirtz later delivered again for Xabi Alonso and company after dancing into the box and rolling home.
Leverkusen’s dominance continued after the break when Patrik Schick joined in on the goal-scoring celebrations alongside Aleix Garcia.
RB Salzburg finished the night with just two efforts on target.
Results from earlier…
Milan survive Slovan Bratislava test
Scorers: Barseghyan 24', Marcelli 88'; Pulisic 22', Leao 68', Abraham 71'
Milan continued their fine Champions League form after grinding out a 3-2 victory over Slovan Bratislava.
The ever-reliable Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for the visitors when he raced into the box and finished into the bottom left corner.
The American impressively has more goals than Eden Hazard in the competition (11).
However, Slovan Bratislava struck level in the blink of an eye. Tigran Barseghyan picked up the ball in his own half, ran the pitch and calmly chipped home for 1-1.
After the break, changes were required, and one man off the bench was decisive. Rafael Leão raced into the box and proved too quick as he poked home for the lead.
Tammy Abraham then added a goal of his own after he picked up on a defensive error and converted expertly.
It was the first time he scored and assisted in a single Champions League match after setting up the opener.
The hosts ensured things finished dramatically when Nino Marcelli made things a one-goal game but Milan survived the late pressure.
Atleti fly high in Prague
Scorers: Alvarez 15', 59', Llorente 43', Griezmann 70', Correa 85', 89'
Diego Simeone’s men made it six consecutive wins across all competitions after a dominant 6-0 victory over Sparta Praha.
Summer signing Julian Alvarez helped Atleti get off to a flying start with a sublime free-kick from outside the box into the top left corner.
Marcos Llorente then headed home from point-blank range to double the lead before the break.
Meanwhile, the hosts were forced to sit back and watch the goals fly in after the break. By full-time, Atleti registered 23 attempts to Sparta Praha’s four.
Alvarez proved to be in the form of his life and secured a brace after the break from a tight angle before two veterans had their say.
Antoine Griezmann entered the game to make his 100th competition appearance and then marked the occasion with the club’s fourth goal after a brilliant team move.
Angel Correa also came off the bench and scored two in four minutes, the second of which featured expert close control skills in the box.
How did your team do? Let us know in the comments below.
???? FRANCK FIFE – AFP or licensors
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