Matchday 3 of the Champions League group stage continued on Wednesday October 25 with a number of fixtures. For the most part, the big names held their own. PSG, Man City, Barcelona, Porto and Leipzig all respected the hierarchy. Lazio sank in Rotterdam and Atlético shared the points with Celtic. All in all, a prolific evening of goals.
Group F: PSG outclass Milan, Dortmund win at Newcastle
PSG beat AC Milan 3-0. The Parisians, heckled at the start of the match, scored in the 32nd minute thanks to a personal exploit by Mbappé, set up by Zaire-Emery. Receiving the ball, he set up Tomori, who backed off, opened up the goal by feinting at a curl, then closed his foot to beat Maignan with a shot to the near post. It was the Parisians’ first real chance of the match. At the very start of the second half, PSG thought they had scored with Ousmane Démbélé, but the goal was disallowed for a foul. A few minutes later, Kolo Muani scored the 2nd goal for PSG (53rd). He took Dembélé’s powerful shot which was parried by Maignan. Korean Lee Kang-In scored the 3rd goal (89th).
In the group’s other match, Dortmund pulled off a remarkable feat with a 0-1 win at Saint James Park. The match got off to a flying start. The two teams exchanged blows before the rhythm died down. It was then that Dortmund opened the scoring through Felix Nmecha (45th).
PSG now lead the group with 6 points.Dortmund and Newcastle each have 4 points. Milan are 4th with 1 point.
Group H: Barca record 3rd victory
FC Barcelona beat Ukrainian side Shaktar 2-1. Ferran Torres scored the game’s 1st goal in the 28th minute. He scored with a volley, after a ball hit the post by Fermín López had come back to him. Barca then doubled their advantage with a marvellous inside-post shot from just outside the penalty area, from Fermín López after a pass from Ferran Torres (35th).Shaktar, back with better intentions in the second half, were rewarded with a goal from Sudakov (61st).
Barca are 1st in their group with 3 wins.Porto are second with 6 points. The Portuguese won (1-4) on Belgian soil.Against all expectations, Royal Antwerp opened the scoring through Alhassan Yusuf (37th). Porto came back to score through Evanilson (46th). The Portuguese took the lead on a goal by Stephan Eustàquio (54th min). Evanislon made it 1-3 for Porto (69th). Evanilson did it again, taking his tally to 3 in the 84th minute.
Antwerp have yet to register any points and remain stuck in last place just behind Shakhtar (3 pts).
Group G: Man City consolidate top spot
City had a tougher time than usual against Young Boys (1-3). The European champions didn’t have an easy time of it against the well-organized Swiss side, who managed to get to the dressing room without conceding. Man City rectified their inefficiency early in the second half, Manuel Akanji scoring on 48 minutes. The Swiss, full of heart, equalized in the 52nd minute thanks to Congolese Meschak Elia. Erling Haaland, after a long period of inactivity, restored City’s lead from the penalty spot (67th minute). Haaland scored twice in the 86th minute.
Leipzig also triumphed over Red Star (3-1) in this group.David Raum scored for the Germans in the 12th minute.RBL then doubled the score thanks to a finish from Xavi Simons (59th). Marco Stamenic reduced the Serbian lead in the 70th minute.Danilo Olmo scores Leipzig’s 3rd goal.
City are 1st in the group on 9 points, with Leipzig hot on their heels on 6.Young Boyg and Red Star each have 1 point.
Group E: Lazio sink in Rotterdam
Feyernoord won (3-1) against Lazio. They now lead the group with 6 points. Santiago Giménez scored a fine goal in the 31st minute to give the home side the lead. The striker beat his marker with a control before finding the corner of Lazio’s left-hand net. Feyenoord extended their lead in first-half stoppage time. The goal was scored by Algerian international Ramiz Zarrouki, with a clinical left-footed curl. A deserved lead, given the team’s dominance in the 1st half. Santiago Giménez brought the score to 3-1 with a brace (74th min). Pedro reduced the score for the Italians from the penalty spot (83rd). Celtic and Atletico finished back-to-back (2-2). Celtic scored first at home in the 4th minute. Kyogo Furuhashi was the star. Atlético equalized on 24 minutes when Griezmann converted a 2-stroke penalty. Celtic regained the lead with a goal from Luis Palma in the 27th minute. Atlético responded again with Morata (53rd). Atlético are 2nd in the group with 5 points, Lazio 3rd with 4. Celtic are 4th with 1 point.
What a night 😲#UCL pic.twitter.com/oOr6KYzm5x
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 25, 2023
