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Barcelona Struggle Against Brugge as Manchester City Shine with Haaland

Barcelona endured a difficult night in Belgium, needing an own goal to rescue a 3-3 draw against Club Brugge — a result that lifted their tally to seven points in the unified group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Portuguese forward Carlos Forbes Borges was the standout performer, scoring twice (17’, 64’) and assisting the opening goal by German captain Nicolo Trisoldi (6’).

The Spanish champions, sitting 11th in the table, avoided a second defeat in the competition thanks to a late own goal from Greek defender Christos Tzolis (77’), after coming from behind twice through Ferran Torres (8’) and Lamine Yamal (61’).

It was the first draw of the campaign for Club Brugge, who had previously beaten Monaco 4-1 but suffered consecutive defeats to Bayern Munich (0-4) and Atalanta (1-2).

Meanwhile, Manchester City produced a commanding performance against Borussia Dortmund, led by their former striker Erling Haaland, who scored against his old club to inspire a 4-1 victory. The Norwegian forward — along with Phil Foden, who bagged a brace, and Rayan Cherki, who added the fourth — powered the English champions, while defender Waldemar Anton netted Dortmund’s only goal.

Haaland left Dortmund in 2022 after scoring 86 goals in 89 appearances across all competitions over three seasons. His strike against his former team took his tally to 18 goals in 14 matches this season across all competitions. It was also not his first time scoring against Dortmund — he had previously found the net in City’s 2-1 win during the 2022–23 group stage, on their way to their first-ever Champions League triumph.

Inter Maintain Perfect Record

Inter Milan maintained their 100% record with a 2-1 win over Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, thanks to goals from Lautaro Martínez (45’) and Carlos Augusto (67’), while Ofri Arad (55’) pulled one back for the hosts.

Inter now sit third on goal difference behind Bayern Munich and Arsenal, one point ahead of Manchester City. Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, and Liverpool complete the top eight — all tied on nine points and in direct qualification spots for the Round of 16.

Elsewhere, Benfica and Ajax both suffered their fourth consecutive defeats. Benfica fell 3-0 to Galatasaray, courtesy of a Victor Osimhen hat-trick (59’, 66’, 78’, two penalties), while Ajax lost to Bayer Leverkusen, who claimed their first victory of the campaign through a goal from Patrik Schick (65’).

Newcastle United continued their strong run with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, courtesy of goals from Dan Burn (11’) and Joelinton (49’).

Marseille slumped to their third defeat, losing 1-0 to Atalanta after a stoppage-time winner from substitute Lazar Samardžić (90+2’).

Meanwhile, Qarabag stunned Chelsea with a 2-2 draw — the Blues took an early lead through Estevão (16’) but fell behind after goals from Leandro Andrade (29’) and Marko Janković (39’, penalty), before substitute Alejandro Garnacho (52’) salvaged a point.

Finally, Pafos FC of Cyprus recorded a historic 1-0 victory over Spanish side Villarreal, with Dutch defender Derrick Luckassen scoring the only goal of the match (46’).

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