PSG, Liverpool and Barcelona Begin Champions League Campaigns With Wins
Sports Correspondet: Imran Sohail
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) began their Champions League campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Slovan Bratislava 6-1 on Wednesday.
Ferran Torres was the standout performer, scoring three goals as PSG made a strong start to their attempt to win the European title for a third consecutive season.
PSG Cruise Past Slovan
PSG quickly took control at the Parc des Princes. Ousmane Dembele scored twice inside the opening 22 minutes before Torres added his first goal shortly after the half-hour mark.
The Spanish forward scored again early in the second half before completing his hat-trick in the 57th minute.
Slovan managed to score a consolation goal through Suleiman Camara, but Fabian Ruiz restored PSG’s five-goal advantage late in the match.
PSG are aiming to become only the fourth club in European Cup history to win the competition three years in a row.
Liverpool Come From Behind Against Atletico
Liverpool also opened their campaign with a victory, beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield.
Atletico took the lead in the 17th minute when Marcos Llorente finished a chance created by Julian Alvarez.
Liverpool responded shortly before halftime. Dominik Szoboszlai levelled the score after Ronald Araujo provided a clever backheel pass.
Alexis Mac Allister then put Liverpool ahead five minutes into the second half with a powerful left-footed shot from outside the penalty area.
Atletico were unable to find an equaliser as Liverpool secured their second consecutive win after their Premier League victory over Ipswich Town.
Arsenal Earn Narrow Win Over Napoli
Arsenal also collected three points after defeating Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The English side created several opportunities but had to wait until the final 15 minutes for the breakthrough.
Martin Odegaard combined with Christos Tzolis before sending a shot into the far corner to give Arsenal the lead. The goal proved decisive as Arsenal held on for the win.
Barcelona Make Strong Start
Barcelona began their Champions League campaign with a convincing 5-1 victory over Feyenoord.
Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona continued their strong start to the season. The Brazilian forward has already scored eight goals in all competitions this campaign.
Karim Adeyemi also found the net with a long-range effort, while Lamine Yamal scored from a free kick. Gabriel Jesus completed the scoring with his first goal for Barcelona.
The Spanish club have now won all five of their matches across competitions this season.
Other Champions League Results
VfB Stuttgart also secured a comfortable victory, beating Norwegian champions Viking 3-1, with Ermedin Demirovic scoring a first-half hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon came from behind to defeat Galatasaray 3-1.
The opening round has provided several strong performances, with the leading European clubs making positive starts to their Champions League campaigns.
