European champions Paris Saint-Germain began their UEFA Champions League title defence in spectacular fashion after recording a 6-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava in Paris.
The French champions produced a dominant display on Wednesday night as they sent an early warning to their European rivals.
PSG Deliver Ruthless Opening Performance
PSG’s attack proved too strong for the Slovak side, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring twice before new signing Ferran Torres completed a hat-trick.
Luis Enrique’s team had built a commanding five-goal advantage within 57 minutes before Slovan Bratislava reduced the deficit through Suleiman Camara.
However, PSG restored their five-goal cushion when Fabián Ruiz scored during stoppage time to complete a convincing home victory.
The match was played against a Slovan side managed by former Yaya Touré, the former Manchester City midfielder.
Arsenal Secure Narrow Victory in Naples
Last season’s Champions League runners-up Arsenal F.C. continued their strong European form with a hard-fought 1-0 away win against S.S.C. Napoli.
The Gunners, who won all eight league-phase matches in last season’s competition, needed a late moment of quality to claim victory.
Captain Martin Ødegaard produced the decisive strike in the 75th minute with a powerful effort that secured three valuable points.
Arteta Says Result Did Not Reflect Arsenal Performance
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his team’s performance but admitted they should have scored more.
“The result probably doesn’t reflect the performance,” Arteta said.
He added that Arsenal created several opportunities against a difficult opponent but failed to convert many chances.
Liverpool Fight Back to Beat Atletico Madrid
At Anfield, Liverpool F.C. recovered from an early setback to defeat Atlético Madrid 2-1.
The Spanish visitors took the lead in the 17th minute when Marcos Llorente finished a quick counterattack.
Liverpool responded strongly, with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister completing the comeback.
Szoboszlai said the match was challenging but praised Liverpool’s determination.
“It was ups and downs all the time. They have a good team. I think we have a good team as well. We gave everything that we had,” he said.
Barcelona Also Begin Campaign With Big Win
Spanish champions FC Barcelona also impressed after defeating Feyenoord 5-1 at Camp Nou.
Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus were among the scorers as Barcelona produced an attacking display.
Manchester United Set for Thursday Action
The Champions League action continues on Thursday with six more fixtures scheduled.
Three-time European champions Manchester United F.C. will host Azerbaijani debutants Sabah FC.
Sabah reached the competition’s group phase after progressing through four qualifying knockout rounds.
