PARIS (BN24) — Paris Saint-Germain scored seven, Barcelona hit six and Erling Haaland struck his twenty-fourth goal of the season on an action-packed night in the Champions League on Tuesday that produced forty-three goals across nine matches.
Six teams scored four or more goals on a night of attacking dominance that saw defending champion PSG lead the way at the top of the standings after a wild 7-2 victory against Bayer Leverkusen in a match that saw both teams reduced to ten men in the first half.
Arsenal had to be patient but eventually thrashed Atletico Madrid with four goals in thirteen minutes for a 4-0 victory at Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta’s side was unlucky not to score in the first half but eventually broke through with a set piece in the fifty-seventh minute, which opened the floodgates.
Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 in the sixty-fourth minute, marking his third goal in three Champions League games this season. Viktor Gyokeres added the final two goals to cap off a perfect night for Arsenal, ending his seven-game scoring drought for the club.
Arsenal, with nine points, currently sits third in the league phase table behind only PSG and Inter Milan.
Barcelona’s 6-1 win against Olympiakos saw the Spanish club bounce back from a loss to PSG at the start of the month. Fermin Lopez scored a hat trick, his first of his career, and Marcus Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, hit two goals as Barcelona blew away ten-man Olympiakos.
Barcelona took full advantage when the Greek champion saw Santiago Hezze shown a contentious red card in the fifty-seventh minute. The visitors had gotten back into the game at 2-1 three minutes earlier after Ayoub El Kaabi’s penalty, but with the extra man Barcelona overwhelmed Olympiakos with four goals in eleven minutes.
Lamine Yamal also got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot. Rashford now has four goals in three Champions League games this season. “Sometimes it’s difficult to break opponents down, but we have so many goalscoring players in different areas that getting goals is the least of our worries,” he said.
By halftime at the BayArena, PSG was 4-1 up, but that did not come close to telling the full story of a chaotic first half which included a red card for each team and two penalties for Leverkusen.
Two goals for Desire Doue put the French champion well in control and the action continued after the break with Nuno Mendes extending the lead within five minutes of the restart. Ousmane Dembele also came off the bench to make a scoring return after injury.
Aleix Garcia scored a spectacular swerving long-range effort in the second half, though it was merely a footnote to PSG’s dominant performance. He also converted a first-half penalty.
Haaland’s goal helped Manchester City to a 2-0 win at Villarreal. The Norway international’s opener was his twenty-fourth in fourteen games this season and extended his current scoring streak to twelve games in a row. He now has fifty-three goals in the Champions League in just fifty-one appearances.
The only game he did not score in this season was City’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham in August. Bernardo Silva was also on target as City moved up to fifth in the standings.
PSV Eindhoven routed Italian champion Napoli 6-2 in the biggest shock of the night. That marked back-to-back losses for Antonio Conte’s team following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Torino. The heavy loss in Europe will be particularly humbling for the Italian champion, with three goals conceded in the last ten minutes after going down to ten men when Lorenzo Lucca was sent off in the seventy-sixth minute.
Inter Milan maintained a perfect record after three games and comfortably overcame Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0, with Lautaro Martinez scoring for the third time in the Champions League this season. Last season’s Champions League runner-up has yet to concede a goal in the competition.
Harvey Barnes scored twice in Newcastle’s 3-0 win against Benfica and Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 in Copenhagen.
Kazakhstani team Kairat picked up its first point in European soccer’s elite club competition with a 0-0 draw against Pafos.
The forty-three goals scored across nine matches represented one of the highest-scoring nights in Champions League history. The attacking spectacle showcased the offensive firepower of Europe’s elite clubs and provided thrilling entertainment for fans worldwide.
Top of the Premier League and perfect in Europe, Arsenal is flying high under Arteta. A powerful second half at the Emirates saw the team brush aside Atletico with Gyokeres sealing the victory with two goals in three minutes. Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli had already given the Londoners a 2-0 lead by then.
The night’s results significantly impacted the Champions League standings, with PSG, Inter and Arsenal all maintaining perfect records through three matches. The expanded league phase format has produced entertaining matches with teams competing for favorable playoff positions.
