Paris Saint-Germain piled more misery upon scandal-hit Manchester City with a 4-2 win while Real Madrid struck three late goals to defeat Roma 4-3 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
PSG, the two-time defending champion, produced an impervious first-half performance with three first-half goals to leave the home fans – including former City coach Pep Guardiola – stunned at the break.
Désiré Doué fired in the opener in the 13th, then provided a brilliant
lobbed cross for Ousmane Dembélé to get the second within two minutes after that.
PSG fans celebrated with their backs turned — emulating City supporters' trademark celebration — after Vitinha got the visitors’ third goal in the 32nd, and the home fans appeared to be in shock. The players’ shouts could be heard for the rest of the first half as the stadium was silenced.
Erling Haaland provided some reason to cheer by heading in City’s response in the 53rd, prompting Guardiola to celebrate, but Maghnes Akliouche stopped the home team’s momentum with PSG’s fourth 10 minutes later.
Haaland’s second goal in the 75th gave City hope again.
Ferran Torres’ penalty should have sealed it for PSG, but Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped the poorly taken spot kick in stoppage time.
It was City’s first European game since being charged with financial rule-breaking over nearly a decade in the Premier League.
Antonio Rüdiger was Real Madrid’s unlikely hero with a last-minute winner at Roma.
The home fans paid tribute to returning coach José Mourinho, then celebrated wildly as their team took a 3-1 lead.
Marten de Roon scored Roma’s opener with a well-struck effort from distance in the 20th, before Kylian Mbappé equalized with a deflected shot in the 25th on his 100th appearance in the competition. At 27, he's the youngest player to reach the 100 mark.
Donyell Malen answered twice – restoring Roma’s lead in the 51st and getting his second six minutes later.
But Madrid substitutes Carlos Espí and Endrick scored within three minutes from the 85th to tie the game, then Rüdiger scored from close range after a corner.
Isco scored the winner and Abde Ezzalzouli netted a contender for goal of the day as Real Betis defeated Porto 3-2 in a bad-tempered game in Seville.
Ezzalzouli struck the ball from the corner of the penalty area inside the top corner at the far post after the break.
Gabriel Veiga equalized with a fine free kick in the 55th and set off a kerfuffle between rival players with his celebration. Three players were booked.
Porto substitute Samu – a Spanish international – scored just two minutes after coming on, only for Cucho Hernández – another substitute – to equalize in the 74th.
Isco got the winner late with a penalty.
Bradley Barcola scored a hat trick as Liverpool coasted to a 6-3 win at Austria’s LASK earlier.
They were his first goals for the club since joining from European champion Paris Saint-Germain in the offseason.
Ronald Araújo also got his first Liverpool goal as he broke the deadlock with a header from a corner, less than two minutes before Barcola scored in the 24th from a lay-off by Lewis Koumas.
Ryan Gravenberch struck the post before Barcola got his second in the 37th, finishing with aplomb after being played through by Florian Wirtz.
Jeremie Frimpong, one of the smallest players on the field, headed Liverpool’s fourth in off the right post in the 51st.
Robert Ljubičić pulled a goal back in the 63rd, a minute after going on as a substitute, before Frimpong gave Barcola a simple tap-in to complete his hat trick in the 66th.
Koumas was left free to get Liverpool’s sixth six minutes later – it was the 21-year-old forward's first Liverpool goal.
But Florian Flecker – another LASK substitute – got the biggest cheer when he scored his team’s second with a diving header in the 74th, four minutes before he got another to complete the scoring.
Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola dropped Virgil van Dijk to the substitutes’ bench with French defender Jérémy Jacquet starting. The Dutch star replaced Jacquet for the last half hour or so.
Anis Hadj Moussa scored twice as Dutch leader Feyenoord came from behind to beat visiting Como 3-2 in the other early game.
Assane Diao gave Como the lead with the team’s first shot in the 18th minute after outmuscling Javi López on the right and firing inside the far post.
But Gjivai Zechiël replied two minutes later with a spectacular shot, and Algeria winger Hadj Moussa scored early in the second half before sealing the result in the 82nd.
Tasos Douvikas scored Como's consolation in stoppage time.
___
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
