Holders Paris Saint-Germain come from behind to win 2-1 at Barcelona in the league phase of the Champions League.
Paris St Germain battled back from a goal down to grab a 2-1 win over Barcelona in a gripping Champions League encounter, with the defending champions overcoming a raft of injuries to secure a valuable victory away from home.
Barcelona started well on Wednesday, and their pressure paid off in the 19th minute when Marcus Rashford delivered a precise pass across the box to Ferran Torres, who slid in to beat the offside trap and slot past PSG goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier.
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PSG, however, responded tenaciously, despite missing captain Marquinhos and their starting attacking trio of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.
They took control of proceedings and equalised in the 38th minute when Nuno Mendes embarked on a dazzling run down the left, beating three defenders before setting up 19-year-old Senny Mayulu, who finished clinically into the bottom corner.
After substitute Lee Kang-in hit the post with a shot from the edge of the box in the 83rd minute, PSG finally scored a deserved winner from a quick counter in the 90th, with Achraf Hakimi crossing for substitute Goncalo Ramos to fire home from close range.
“Very disappointing feeling at the end, when you concede in the last minute of the game, to lose at home, you have to be disappointed,” Barcelona captain Freddie de Jong told Movistar+.
“They [PSG] were better in the final stages, in the second half in general. We began the game better. So it went back and forward, but it’s true, they were better in the second half.”
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scores his side’s first goal against PSG [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Man City and Juventus held but Arsenal and Newcastle win
Manchester City had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Monaco after Eric Dier scored a 90th-minute penalty for the hosts.
Villarreal and Juventus also ended 2-2 after Renato Veiga’s late equaliser.
Arsenal beat Olympiakos 2-0, with Gabriel Martinelli netting after 12 minutes and Bukayo Sako sealing the win in injury time.
“We want to be creative, we know the quality we have in the team,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said.
“Everyone can see the quality and depth in the squad now, it is a feeling from every single player on the pitch that you want to keep your place.”
On Arsenal finishing second in the English Premier League for three consecutive seasons and being knocked out of the Champions League in the semifinals last year, Odegaard added: “We have used everything that happened to us in a good way and have also brought a few new players in – hopefully this is going to be our year.”
Nick Woltemade is doing his best to make Newcastle fans forget about Alexander Isak.
The club-record $93m signing scored his third goal in four starts for Newcastle to set up the 4-0 rout of Union Saint-Gilloise.
The German international was signed to fill the sizable void left by Isak’s contentious move to Liverpool. And he has made an instant impact.
His 17th-minute goal at Lotto Park might not have been the prettiest — diverting Sandro Tonali’s goalbound shot past Kjell Scherpen — but it got Newcastle off to the perfect start. It also highlighted his useful knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Woltemade has now scored in back-to-back games after his goal against Arsenal on Sunday. He still has some way to go to prove he can replace Isak, who scored 54 goals in 78 Premier League starts for Newcastle, but the early signs are promising after his move from Stuttgart.
Anthony Gordon struck twice from the penalty spot — scoring either side of halftime to put Newcastle in control, and substitute Harvey Barnes added a fourth.
Qarabag maintained its 100 percent start to the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Copenhagen. Abdellah Zoubir and Emmanuel Addai were on target for the Azerbaijani team.
