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Liverpool Halt Real Madrid and Bayern Prove They’re the Best

Real Madrid suffered their first defeat in the UEFA Champions League on a night that saw Bayern Munich reaffirm their dominance as Europe’s most formidable side this season, in the opening fixtures of Match week 4 of the unified group stage.

Bayern Munich and Arsenal now sit atop the standings with 12 points each — three clear of Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Inter Milan. The Italian side still have a chance to join the leaders if they defeat Kairat Almaty on Wednesday evening to close out the round.

Key Match Highlights

At Anfield, Liverpool claimed their second consecutive victory, inflicting Real Madrid’s first loss of the competition with a 1-0 triumph.

The Reds fully deserved the win, controlling the game and creating multiple chances but were repeatedly denied by the outstanding Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who produced several crucial saves — particularly against Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. The breakthrough finally came through Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister in the 61st minute.

With this result, Liverpool climbed to sixth place with nine points, level on points but behind Real Madrid on goal difference — the Spanish giants still holding the record for the most Champions League titles.

At the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain also suffered their first defeat, losing 2-1 at home to German champions Bayern Munich. Colombian winger Luis Díaz struck twice for Bayern in the 4th and 32nd minutes before being sent off for a reckless challenge on Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi (45+7), who left the pitch in tears after teammate Ousmane Dembélé had already been forced off injured in the 25th minute. Substitute João Neves pulled one back for PSG in the 74th minute.

Bayern extended their incredible run of form, recording a 16th consecutive win across all competitions. Their composure and defensive resilience against a resurgent PSG side in the second half further cemented their status as the best-performing team in world football at the moment.

Similarly, Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the campaign, securing a fourth straight win with a 3-0 victory away at Slavia Prague. Bukayo Saka (32’, penalty) and Spain’s Mikel Merino (46’, 68’) were on target for the Gunners.

Atlético Madrid registered their second win of the competition, beating Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 thanks to goals from Argentina’s Julián Álvarez (39’), England’s Conor Gallagher (72’), and Marcos Llorente (90+6’), while Ross Sykes netted the visitors’ only goal in the 80th minute.

Juventus, under new coach Luciano Spalletti, continue to search for their first victory in the tournament after being held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting CP. Uruguayan Maximiliano Araújo gave the Portuguese side an early lead in the 12th minute before Serbian striker Dušan Vlahović equalized in the 34th.

Meanwhile, Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt played out a goalless stalemate.

Tottenham Hotspur, despite being reduced to ten men in the 55th minute after defender Brennan Johnson was sent off, produced a commanding 4-0 win over Copenhagen. Johnson himself opened the scoring (19’), followed by goals from France’s Wilson Odobert (51’), Dutchman Micky van de Ven (64’), and Portugal’s João Palhinha (67’). Substitute Richarlison missed a penalty in stoppage time (90+2’).

Elsewhere, Olympiacos drew 1-1 with PSV Eindhoven — Portugal’s Gelson Martins opened the scoring for the hosts (17’), before American Ricardo Pepi equalized deep into stoppage time (93’).

AS Monaco recorded their first win of the group stage, defeating Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt 1-0 courtesy of a goal from American forward Folarin Balogun (43’).

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