Paris — Kylian Mbappe helped Paris Saint-Germain move top of Champions League Group F with a 3-0 victory over AC Milan on Wednesday, while Newcastle slumped to a first defeat, 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund.
Erling Haaland was back on the scoresheet as Manchester City won 3-1 away to Young Boys, and fellow British side Celtic drew 2-2 in Glasgow against Atletico Madrid.
Goals from Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Kang-in Lee in Paris against Milan sent PSG top of the closely-contested Group F with six points.
The deadlock was broken just after the half-hour mark when Mbappe received the ball from Warren Zaire-Emery, unbalanced Fikayo Tomori and then wrong-footed compatriot Mike Maignan with a smart, low finish.
Ousmane Dembele thought he had doubled the hosts’ advantage on 50 minutes only for a VAR check to disallow it for a foul in the build-up.
Kolo Muani, the third member of PSG’s French front three, then did double the lead three minutes later with a close-range tap-in before Lee struck.
What a night 😲#UCL pic.twitter.com/oOr6KYzm5x
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 25, 2023
“We are very proud of our performance,” Kolo Muani said to Canal Plus.
“Winning these games gives everyone confidence.”
Newcastle came back to earth with a home defeat by Borussia Dortmund, which saw the Germans move above them into second place on head-to-head.
It was a tight encounter with Dortmund edging it thanks to a first-half goal from Felix Nmecha.
Nmecha gave Borussia a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time with a well-controlled finish following excellent defensive and then creative work by Nico Schlotterbeck.
Newcastle nearly claimed a point in the closing stages of the match when Callum Wilson’s header struck the crossbar, before a later Anthony Gordon chance was deflected on to the woodwork.
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic told TNT: “With the first half we deserved to win and the second half we protected the win.”
Haaland breaks duck
Manchester City made it three from three to top Group G, with Manuel Akanji’s goal and a Haaland brace seeing off Young Boys in Switzerland.
Man City endured a frustrating first period on a plastic pitch in Bern, with Young Boys goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi producing several fine saves.
Immediately after half-time a stunning save from the Swiss ‘keeper saw the ball rebound off the crossbar and fall straight to Akanji.
The hosts stunned the Champions League holders on 52 minutes when Meschack Elia broke clear of the defence and lobbed a finish over the advancing Ederson.
However, hopes of an upset were extinguished when Haaland broke his five-game goal drought in the competition with a penalty in the 67th minute.
After a Julian Alvarez goal was disallowed, the Norwegian striker produced a fine finish to round off a 3-1 win.
“I am sorry, but this guy will score goals all his life, with the chances he is an incredible threat,” said City coach Pep Guardiola of Haaland.
In Germany, Leipzig created a five-point buffer for themselves in Group G’s second position with a 3-1 win against Red Star Belgrade, thanks to David Raum, a second-half stunner from starlet Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo.
Topsy-turvy in Paradise
The points were shared between Celtic and Atletico in a lively draw, which saw the hosts pick up their first point of the campaign.
Celtic took the lead early when Kyogo Furuhashi lifted the ball beyond Jan Oblak in the fourth minute, completing a fine team move.
On 23 minutes, Joe Hart tipped an Antoine Griezmann penalty onto the post only for it to rebound perfectly to the Frenchman who made no mistake second time round.
The hosts sprang back immediately when a 27th-minute cross fell at the back stick to Luis Palma, who hammered the ball back across the unsighted Oblak.
Alvaro Morata got Atletico back into the tie on 53 minutes when he sent a perfectly judged header back across Hart and into the net.
Rodrigo De Paul picked up a late second yellow card, but the hosts were unable to turn their numerical advantage into a winner.
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Feyenoord moved into top spot in Group E following a 3-1 victory against Lazio in the pool’s early kick-off.
A Santiago Gimenez brace and first goal for summer signing Ramiz Zerrouki saw the Dutch home despite a late penalty converted by Pedro for Lazio, who dropped into third.
Barcelona saw out a win at home 2-1 against Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to first-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez, making it three from three for the Group H leaders.
Porto came from behind in Belgium to beat Antwerp 4-1, with all their goals coming in the second half courtesy of an Evanilson hat-trick and Stephen Eustaquio.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@ManCity
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