Champions League round-up – How the English clubs fared this week
Wednesday night round-up: Villa beat Bayern, Liverpool win at Anfield
Late goal secures historic win for Villa
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich
Jhon Duran came off the bench to secure a dramatic victory for Aston Villa over Bayern Munich in the Champions League at a jubilant Villa Park. In a match steeped in history, echoing Villa’s 1982 European Cup triumph, Duran’s composed finish in the 79th minute replicated that iconic scoreline. Villa, under Unai Emery, continued their strong start to the campaign following a 3-0 win against Young Boys. Though Pau Torres had a goal disallowed, Duran’s fifth substitute goal this season, combined with a crucial late save by Emi Martinez from Harry Kane, sealed the victory in Villa’s first home European fixture in 41 years.
Salah shows no signs of slowing down
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna
Arne Slot’s first home Champions League match as Liverpool manager ended in victory, as goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah secured a 2-0 win over Bologna at Anfield. Slot, who has now won eight of his first nine games, saw his side take the lead early through Mac Allister’s close-range finish from a Salah cross. Bologna, making their Champions League debut, pressed hard, with Dan Ndoye hitting the post and Alisson making key saves. Salah then sealed the win with a stunning strike, curling in his 49th Champions League goal to continue Slot’s impressive start.
Biggest Shock: Real Madrid lost to Lille!
Holders Real Madrid suffered their first Champions League defeat since May 2023, losing 1-0 to Lille at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium. Jonathan David’s penalty, awarded after a VAR review confirmed Eduardo Camavinga’s handball, secured the win for Lille, who impressed throughout. Despite Real’s late pressure, including near-misses from Antonio Rudiger and Arda Guler, Lille held on to earn their first victory in the competition after losing to Sporting in their opener. The loss also ended Real’s 36-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, with young talents Endrick and Jude Bellingham struggling to make an impact.
Tuesday night round-up: Havertz shines, City dominates
Saka and Havertz put on a performance
Arsenal 2-0 PSG
Arsenal secured their first win in the new Champions League format with a 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz opened the scoring with a header from Leandro Trossard’s cross, followed by Bukayo Saka’s free-kick, which drifted past PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Despite PSG hitting the woodwork twice, Arsenal’s dominant first-half performance set the stage for the win. PSG, without stars like Mbappe and Messi, applied pressure after the break, but Arsenal held firm. New signing Mikel Merino also made his debut, capping a solid night for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Champions League: Arsenal’s first-half show sinks PSG
Phil Foden shines in dominant performance
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City
Phil Foden starred with a goal and an assist as Manchester City cruised to their first Champions League win of the season, beating Slovan Bratislava 4-0. Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring with a deflected strike in the eighth minute, followed by Foden’s composed finish just seven minutes later. City dominated, hitting the woodwork three times before Erling Haaland made it 3-0 with his 11th goal of the season. Foden then set up James McAtee for his first City goal in the 74th minute, sealing a comfortable win. Slovan’s keeper, Dominik Takac, kept the scoreline down with several key saves.
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