Source: Alamy Stock Photo

A Goal Festival Started by Barcelona and Ended by PSG

On a night that witnessed the scoring of 43 goals across nine matches in the opening round of Match week 3 of the unified group stage in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona roared back with a stunning 6-1 win over Olympiacos, PSV Eindhoven dismantled Napoli 6-2, and defending champions Paris Saint-Germain went one better with a 7-2 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

As preparation for the upcoming “El Clásico” against arch-rivals Real Madrid on Sunday, Barcelona overwhelmed a depleted Olympiacos side 6-1, with Fermín López stealing the spotlight through a brilliant hat-trick (7, 39, 76). Englishman Marcus Rashford added a brace (74, 79), while Lamine Yamal converted from the penalty spot (68). Moroccan Ayoub El Kaabi pulled one back for Olympiacos with a penalty (54), but the visitors’ hopes faded when Argentine midfielder Santiago Hezze was dismissed after receiving two yellow cards (57).

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain stayed top of the group with a commanding win over Leverkusen. Goals came from Ecuadorian Willian Pacho (7), Désiré Doué (41, 45+3), Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (44), Portuguese Nuno Mendes (50), returning substitute Ousmane Dembélé (66), and Vitinha (90).

Spaniard Álex García scored Leverkusen’s two goals (38 pen, 54). Both sides finished with 10 men after Leverkusen captain Robert Andrich (33) and PSG’s Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi (37) were both shown straight red cards.

The victory matched PSG’s longest Champions League winning streak, equaling the six consecutive victories they achieved between September and December 1994.

Important Wins for Arsenal and Inter

Arsenal cruised past Atlético Madrid 4-0 at the Emirates. Brazilian center-back Gabriel Magalhães opened the scoring (57), followed by his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli (64). The pair then combined to set up Swidish forward Viktor Gyökeres, who struck twice in quick succession (67, 71). It marked Arsenal’s third consecutive win, keeping them level at the top with PSG and Inter Milan.

Inter also maintained their perfect start with a 4-0 demolition of Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, with goals from Dutchman Denzel Dumfries (41), Argentine Lautaro Martínez (45+1), Turkish midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu (53 pen), and Francesco Pio Esposito (76).

Elsewhere, Norwegian star Erling Haaland continued his remarkable scoring run, leading Manchester City to a 2-0 away win over Villarreal. Haaland now has four goals in three Champions League games this season and an astonishing 53 goals in 51 appearances in the competition overall. He also raised his season tally to 15 across all competitions and extended his scoring streak to 12 straight matches for club and country (22 goals in total). Portuguese captain Bernardo Silva doubled City’s lead in the 40th minute, sealing their second Champions League win of the season after their opening 2-0 victory over Napoli.

In Eindhoven, PSV overturned an early setback to thrash Napoli 6-2. The Italians struck first through Scotland international Scott McTominay (31), but just four minutes later defender Alessandro Buongiorno turned the ball into his own net (35). Moroccan Ismael Saibari put PSV ahead (38), before Belgian Denis Daan bagged a brace (54, 80). McTominay briefly cut the deficit (86), but PSV finished with a flourish as Ricardo Pepi (87) and Moroccan Souhaib Driouech (89) completed the rout.

Newcastle United swept aside Benfica 3-0 with goals from Anthony Gordon (32) and a Harvey Barnes double (70, 83).

Borussia Dortmund also claimed a valuable 4-2 away win over Copenhagen. Felix Nmecha struck twice (20, 76), Rami Bensebaini converted from the spot (61), and Fábio Silva (87) sealed the victory. The hosts had earlier equalized through an own goal by Waldemar Anton (33) and added a late consolation from Icelandic striker Viktor Daðason (90+1).

In the only goalless game of the evening, Kairat Almaty and Pafos played out a 0-0 draw.