Barcelona delivered another thrilling attacking performance in the fifth round of the UEFA Champions League group stage, defeating Brest 3-0 to secure their fourth consecutive win in the competition.
Polish striker Robert Lewandowski stole the show once again, scoring the first two goals, including his landmark 100th Champions League goal and his seventh of the season. Dani Olmo added a third for the Catalan club in the 66th minute.
With this result, Lewandowski became only the third player in Champions League history to surpass 100 goals, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (129).
Barcelona moved into second place in the group, just one point behind Inter Milan, who triumphed 1-0 over Leipzig thanks to an own goal from French defender Castello Lukeba in the 27th minute. Inter’s win sent them to the top of the table, while tonight’s matches, including a highly anticipated clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid, could have significant ramifications.
Bayern Munich secured a crucial 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in a rematch of the 2020 final, which Bayern had won.
At the Allianz Arena, the Bavarians continued their dominance over PSG, with South Korean defender Kim Min-Jae scoring the only goal in the 38th minute, heading in a corner kick that was initially intercepted by PSG’s goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, who was standing in for Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Bayern’s win took them to 9 points from three wins and two losses, while PSG remained stagnant at 4 points, placing them 26th out of 36 teams in the standings.
At the Etihad, Manchester City, coming off five consecutive losses, seemed to have found their footing against Feyenoord, taking a commanding 3-0 lead with goals from Erling Haaland (2) and Ilkay Gundogan (1). However, Feyenoord mounted an impressive comeback, leveling the game 3-3 in the dying minutes to earn a valuable point. City now have 8 points, compared to Feyenoord’s 7.
In other matches, Atalanta continued their winning form with a dominant 6-1 victory over Young Boys.
Matteo Retegui scored a brace (9 and 39), while Charles De Ketelaer (28 and 56), Sead Kolasinac (31), and Lazar Samardzic (90) found the net. Silver Ganvoila Mboussi scored for Young Boys in the 11th minute.
Bayer Leverkusen crushed Salzburg 5-0, with Florian Wirtz scoring twice (8 from the penalty spot and 30), Alejandro Grimaldo (11), Patrick Schick (61), and Alex Garcia (72) also on the scoresheet.
Arsenal bounced back from their previous loss to Inter Milan, defeating Sporting CP 5-1.
Gabriel Martinelli (7), Kai Havertz (22), and Gabriel Magalhães (45) scored in the first half, while Bukayo Saka added a penalty (65) and Leandro Trossard completed the victory (83). Gonçalo Inácio scored for Sporting in the 47th minute.
AC Milan, after early setbacks, secured their third consecutive win with a 3-1 victory over Real Madrid.
Christian Pulisic (21), Rafael Leão (68), and Tammy Abraham (71) were the scorers for Milan, while Tigran Barseghyan (21) and Nino Marcieli (88) netted for the visitors.
Atlético Madrid thrashed Slavia Prague 6-0 in one of their biggest-ever Champions League victories. Goals came from Julián Álvarez (15 and 59), Marcos Llorente (43), Antoine Griezmann (43), and Ángel Correa (85 and 89).