Lionel Messi’s superb first goal for Paris Saint-Germain punished former coach Pep Guardiola’s team as PSG beat Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT).
Messi charged towards the penalty area in the 74th minute and received a clever flick from Kylian Mbappe before curling a fine strike into the top right corner.
It was his first goal in four games since a shock summer move from Barcelona, and the kind of goal he scored for fun playing under Guardiola there. The pair won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011, with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner scoring in both finals.
City had not lost in their five previous meetings with PSG, winning 2-1 in Paris and 2-0 at home in last season’s semifinals before losing to Chelsea in the final.
PSG started their dream front three of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, but it was unheralded midfielder Idrissa Gueye who opened the scoring in the eighth minute.
He thumped the ball into the top corner after Neymar’s scuffed shot fell to him just inside the penalty area following Mbappe’s cross from the right.
City should have equalised in the 26th minute, but instead produced a contender for miss of the season.
Raheem Sterling’s header from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross hit the crossbar and the ball fell to winger Bernardo Silva less than two metres out. But Silva somehow scooped the ball onto the bar with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma beaten.
Donnarumma and opposite number Ederson then made a smart save each in an even first half that De Bruyne was perhaps lucky to finish, receiving only a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Gueye’s shin.
Sterling dragged a shot wide early in the second half as City caught PSG’s defence asleep down the left.
Donnarumma then kicked away De Bruyne’s shot in the 54th minute as City exposed poor defending on the other flank as the Premier League champion took control.
PSG’s glittering attack looked flat, as it did in a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge. Neymar shot into the side netting midway through the second half, with Mbappe in a better position.
Then Messi lit up Parc des Princes with a glimpse of things to come, at the stadium where he scored his last Champions League goal for Barcelona last season.
PSG top Group A and are level with Club Brugge with four points. Club Brugge won 2-1 at last-placed RB Leipzig.
Salah, Firmino at the double in Liverpool rout
Two goals from Mohamed Salah. A double as well from Roberto Firmino. All with 20-year-old midfielder Curtis Jones playing a part for Liverpool.
The only Liverpool goal without a direct role for Jones came from Sadio Mane in a 5-1 victory at Porto in the Champions League.
The six-time European champions benefited from poor goalkeeping from Diogo Costa to make it two wins out of two in Group B, which they lead by two points from Atletico Madrid after the Spanish champions won 2-1 at AC Milan.
The goals started flowing in Porto in the 18th minute after Jones cut in on his right foot to fire in a low shot which Costa weakly parried into Zaidu Sanusi and Salah pounced from close range.
The goalkeeping was even more questionable just before half-time.
A sweeping move from left wing to right allowed James Milner to whip a low cross into the penalty area where Costa inexplicably put his arms behind his back to allow the ball to run to Mane, who gratefully accepted a fifth goal in five matches against the Portuguese side.
Costa denied Diogo Jota’s fierce drive early in the second half before Salah showed him how it should be done as Jones’ driving run from deep teed up the Egypt striker, who took one touch before firing past Costa on the hour.
Jota hit the side netting before Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp afforded himself the luxury of resting Salah, Mane and Milner for Sunday’s (Monday NZT) game against Manchester City in the Premier League.
Mehdi Taremi pulled one back in the 74th minute with a diving header but there was still time for more Costa eccentrics as he raced out of his goal for a ball he was never going to get.
Receiving a high ball from Jones, Firmino rolled a shot past Costa from 30 metres and, despite the goalkeeper’s despairing run and dive, it crept over the line.
Firmino benefited from a deflected shot from Jones to slot home a second in the 81st minute.
Newcomers Sheriff stun Real Madrid
Sébastien Thill scored a 90th-minute winner as Moldovan club Sheriff stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu to continue their strong start to their first Champions League campaign.
Thill netted with a powerful shot into the top corner from the edge of the area to give newcomer Sheriff their second consecutive victory.
The minnows lead Group D with six points, three more than Madrid and five more than both Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan, who drew 0-0 in Ukraine in the other group match.
Sheriff beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 in its opener at home, while Madrid won 1-0 at Inter.
Sheriff are the first club from the Moldovan league to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, although they are based in the breakaway region of Transnistria, a self-proclaimed independent nation which isn’t recognised by any United Nations member state.
The club are funded by the Sheriff company, which runs large parts of the economy in Transnistria and has strong political ties.
The visitors had rarely threatened until opening the scoring after a breakaway in the 25th minute, with Jasurbek Yakhshiboev finding the far corner with a firm header past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
A mistake by Courtois a few minutes later while trying to move the ball up the field nearly gave Sheriff another goal, with Yakhshiboev’s shot missing just wide of the post.
Benzema, Vinícius Júnior, and Eden Hazard all had scoring chances as Madrid kept pressuring, but failed to capitalise on them while Sheriff threatened on counterattacks.
Benzema equalised from the penalty spot after a controversial foul on Vinícius Júnior as he tried to get past a defender inside the area. The referee initially let play continue but awarded the penalty after checking the video review.
Less than 10 minutes later, Sheriff had a potential winner by substitute Bruno called back for offside, but Thill still secured the victory near the end with a first-timer that hit the upper corner of the net.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti made four changes at once after the equalizer, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos among those coming off the bench.
Madrid have won only five of their last 13 European games at home. They had won five in a row in all competitions before being held to a scoreless draw by Villarreal at the Bernabéu in the Spanish league last weekend.
Madrid are back at the Bernabéu this season after playing at the smaller Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in their training centre during the pandemic.
Madrid will next visit Shakhtar Donetsk, while Sheriff play Inter in Milan.
Haller continues scoring streak in Ajax win
Sébastien Haller scored his fifth Champions League goal of the season as Ajax beat injury-hit Beşiktaş 2-0 to maintain their lead in Group C on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT).
Four-time European champions Ajax have now scored seven goals in its two Champions League matches this season after routing Sporting Lisbon 5-1 two weeks ago in the Portuguese capital.
Steven Berghuis put Ajax ahead in the 17th minute, sweeping a left-footed shot low into the corner of the net after Dusan Tadic dribbled through the Beşiktaş defence.
Berghuis turned provider for Haller in the 43rd minute, crossing from the right for the Ivory Coast forward to deflect the ball into the net off his thigh.
Haller is the first player to score five times in his first two Champions League matches.
Ajax, who have scored 30 goals in seven Dutch league matches this season, could have won by more against a team missing key players through injury and illness but for some poor finishing and good saves by Beşiktaş goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu, who twice denied Haller and blocked a shot by substitute David Neres in the 85th minute.
Ajax eased up in the second half, giving Beşiktaş a chance to get back into the match. Kenan Karaman looked to have scored in the 62nd minute but his effort was ruled out by referee Benoît Bastien for a foul on Jurriën Timber.
AT A GLANCE
Champions League group stage results:
Group A
Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Manchester City
RB Leipzig 1-2 Club Brugge
Group B
FC Porto 1-5 Liverpool
AC Milan 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Group C
Ajax 2-0 Besiktas
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sporting Lisbon
Group D
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-0 Inter Milan
Real Madrid 1-2 Sheriff Tiraspol
