This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

PSG’s coach Unai Emery said his side’s Champions League victory over Bayern Munich had fulfilled their desire to lead Group B. The French side won 3-0 with goals from Dani Alves, Edinson Cavani and Neymar.

“We took three points tonight, that’s a good thing,” said Emery. “We wanted to win to take the lead of this group, it is done. It was important for our supporters to enjoy this evening. We were able to adapt tactically against Bayern, who played high [up the pitch] against us.”

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PSG took the lead in only the second minute when Neymar swerved his way into the penalty area and teed up Dani Alves. Kylian Mbappe laid on the second before half-time after a swift break down the right and Cavani applied an emphatic finish for his 10th goal in as many appearances.

Mbappe also provided the assist for Neymar, tricking his way into the box in the 63rd minute before playing the ball across goal for the Brazilian to pounce from close range.

Carlo Ancelotti accepted he will be criticised after opting to start with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry on the bench.

“I don’t think my team selection was risky,” said the Italian. “I thought a lot about what the best team to play was.

“I know I will get criticism, that’s fine. I thought it was a good line-up for this game.”

Whether either Robben or Ribéry would have made a difference to the outcome is debatable. Bayern had plenty of possession, but lacked their usual clinical efficiency, while few teams could have denied PSG, who were ruthless on the break.

“We didn’t have the power to avoid their counter,” Ancelotti added. “In the first half, we had good control of the game, good possession, some chances. We were not dangerous enough and we didn’t have balance. They played the whole game looking for the counter-attacks and we couldn’t control that.”

Barcelona’s coach Ernesto Valverde admitted his side had to suffer as they battled to a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon through an own goal from Sebastián Coates at the Estádio José Alvalade. The La Liga leaders extended their winning run to eight matches in all competitions, but were far from their free-flowing best.

Sporting were unbeaten coming into Wednesday night’s European tie and on the back of a 3-2 win at Olympiakos from their opening Group D fixture. Despite some resolute defending, the Portuguese side were eventually undone early in the second half.

Barcelona’s goal, though, had more than a slice of luck about it as Lionel Messi’s 49th minute free-kick into a crowded penalty box came off the back of Luis Suárez’s head before bouncing onto the chest of Coates and then dropping over the line. Nevertheless, Valverde was happy to take the result, if not the performance.

“If you want to win big games you have to suffer. The atmosphere was huge and our opponents were good,” the Barcelona coach said at a post-match press conference. “We played with real determination, we dominated the first half, but were conscious of their ability to counter attack. When we went 1-0 ahead, then Sporting clenched their teeth and caused us a little insecurity. When we got chances to seal the win, we didn’t take them, but this is the Champions League and it is never easy.”

Sporting coach Jorge Jesus, meanwhile, tried to remain philosophical in a first defeat of the new campaign. “Against the world’s second-best team, we performed spectacularly,” he said. “We shut off all their main passing routes in the first half. In the second half we controlled the ball better, but of course it is difficult to create good chances against Barcelona.”

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Jesus continued: “During half-time I told my players we could beat Barcelona because I felt I knew what we had to do to win, and we ended up losing to a freak own goal. Sporting, though, left a great image of an excellent team.”

Higuaín came off the bench to open the scoring for Juventus and Mandzukic added a second as the Italian champions beat Olympiakos 2-0 in Turin in their Group D clash.

With Juve dominating possession but failing to create many goal-scoring opportunities, Argentinian striker Higuaín entered the fray on the hour mark and fired home the rebound from his own shot nine minutes later to give Juve the lead.

With Olympiakos seeking to score on the counter, Juventus spent much of the game bombarding the Greek side’s penalty area with crosses, free kicks and corners and Mandzukic went close with a trio of headers before finally bundling the ball home in the 80th minute.

Having lost their opening game 3-0 to Barcelona, the win puts Juventus back on track and in third place in Group D on three points behind Sporting of Portugal on goal difference, while two defeats in their opening two games leave Olympiakos bottom.

Dimitri Oberlin scored twice in Basel’s 5-0 rout of 10-man Benfica on Wednesday as the Swiss champions reignited their Champions League hopes to move second in Group A.

Both teams lost their opening group games but Basel took just two minutes to put their 3-0 defeat by Manchester United behind them when Michael Lang struck from inside the area after a break on the left.

Basel effectively killed off the game with a stunning second on 21 minutes when Renato Steffen mounted a counter-attack from deep inside his own half and found Oberlin who threaded a neat finish through keeper Julio Cesar’s legs.

A bad night for Benfica’s 5,000 travelling supporters turned rapidly worse with the Dutchman Ricky van Wolfswinkel scoring Basel’s third from the penalty spot after Lubomir Fejsa felled the ever-dangerous Oberlin.

The 68th-minute dismissal of Andre Almeida for a wild two-footed lunge on Luca Zuffi made the home side’s task that much easier with Oberlin adding his second and Blas Riveros their fifth as Benfica suffered their first competitive loss to a Swiss side.

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Goals from the Greek defender Konstantinos Manolas and the Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko helped Roma to a 2-1 win at Qarabag in an entertaining Group C clash on Wednesday.

The pair scored in the opening 15 minutes in the Azeri capital to give the Serie A side a two-goal lead but the visitors endured a nervy second half after Pedro Henrique pulled one back in the 28th minute.

The centre back Manolas fired Roma ahead with a diving close-range header in the seventh minute, scoring his first goal for the club in European competition after Lorenzo Pellegrini drove the ball into the six-yard box.

Dzeko made it 2-0 when he volleyed an angled shot off the underside of the bar past fellow Bosnian Ibrahim Sehic from eight metres, having chested down a looping pass by strike partner Stephan El Shaarawy.

Roma looked in complete control when Brazilian Henrique scored Qarabag’s first goal in Europe’s elite competition, beating goalkeeper Alisson Becker with the outside of his foot after a fine pass by Dino Ndlovu.

Sehic produced a string of superb saves as Roma missed several chances to put the game beyond Qarabag, who pressed forward with long balls in the closing stages but could not find a way through.

South African Ndlovu missed the home side’s best chance of an equaliser in the 90th minute, when he headed a deep cross from the left inches wide of the near post.