PSG was dominated in all sectors in Newcastle (4-1), and gave up the lead in group F. Tuesday, RC Lens had a dream evening by beating Arsenal (2-1). The complete summary of this day.
PSG had the opportunity to take the break at the top of their group, in the event of a victory at St James’ Park against Newcastle this Wednesday evening. In the English rain, the Parisians sank against the perfectly prepared Magpies (4-1). The capital’s players quickly came under opposing pressure, with numerous restart errors on the right flank, until being punished by Almiron on a bad pass from Marquinhos in the 17th minute. The English pressing stifled a Parisian team lacking solutions throughout the match, with an ambitious 4-2-4 but leaving Zaire-Emery and Ugarte far too alone in the midfield. The four aligned attackers were deprived of good balls, too little supplied by an overwhelmed collective and powerless in the face of the black and white waves. In the 42nd minute, a header from Dan Burn made the score 2-0 following a mix-up in the Parisian area.
PSG returned in the second half with the same animation, without major adjustment, which did not fail to be sanctioned by Newcastle. Sean Longstaff scored the third goal in the 50th minute, on one of the Magpies’ many quick throws when recovering the ball. Despite Hernandez reducing the gap with a header in the 56th minute, the Parisians never found the keys and suffered English aggression throughout the match, until a final goal from Fabian Schär (91st), completing Newcastle’s fantastic evening and PSG’s rout. Paris loses the lead in Group F to the benefit of its opponent of the day, who has four points, one more than the Parisians. In the other match of this group, Borussia Dortmund hosted AC Milan. In a lively match full of opportunities, the Germans had the best opportunities but failed to realize them. The two teams part back to back with a score of 0-0: a good point taken for the Milanese, a disappointment for the Borussen who are last in the group with only one point.
After two defeats yesterday, the English clubs definitely shone this evening. Like Newcastle, Manchester City delivered a convincing performance to win in Leipzig (1-3). The Sky Blues dominated the first period and led the score thanks to a goal from Phil Foden in the 25th minute, until the equalizer after Loïs Openda (48th) returned from the locker room, on a counter-blitz perfectly concluded with a hit low on the cross ground which returned with the help of the post. Dominant but not successful, like Erling Haaland who was often well served but never scored, the Citizens had to rely on substitutes to make the difference. Julian Alvarez, who entered five minutes earlier, delivered his own in the 84th minute, with a wonderful curling shot after a back pass from another entrant, Jérémy Doku. The Argentinian then returned the favor to the Belgian, who killed the match after a final counter-attack (92nd). In the other meeting of this group G, the Red Star of Belgrade and the Young Boys of Berne parted in a 2-2 draw which does not suit either team, who are in last place tied with one point , behind Lepizig who has three and Manchester City who already have six.
The Blaugranas were shaken up by a very enterprising Porto team, but Barça came away with a major success at the Estádio do Dragão (0-1). Without being brilliant, the Catalans resisted the attacks of the Portuguese, thanks to a solid defense led in particular by an excellent Jules Koundé. Dominated in the duels and in the intensity, the Barcelonans relied on Ferran Torres to punish Porto for a loss of the ball in midfield just before the break (45th). Then they turned around to leave with three points, which gave them the lead in the group ahead of their evening opponent. Tied with FC Porto, we also find Shakhtar Donetsk, who overthrew Royal Antwerp on the Belgian pitch after a thrilling match, while they were trailing 2 to 0 at half-time (2- 3). Antwerp even missed the equalizer from the penalty spot at the last second (96th), captain Toby Alderweireld missing the target.
Finally, in group E, Atlético Madrid showed all its mental strength to win against the enthusiasm of the Feyenoord players (3-2). Thanks to a solid Oblak, a very active scorer Griezmann, and a formidable and double scorer Morata, the Colchoneros take the lead in their group with four points. Tied with them, we find Lazio Rome, who snatched a major success at Celtic Park in Glasgow (1-2). Pedro crucified the Scots with a header, in the 96th minute, on a perfect serve from Guendouzi, who entered the game like the Spaniard. Celtic are last with zero points and two defeats.
The 38,167 spectators present Tuesday evening at the Stade Bollaert-Delélis experienced an evening that they will not soon forget. At the end of a huge match, the Lensois achieved a historic feat by overthrowing Arsenal to win their first Champions League match in more than twenty years. The evening started off badly, however, with a bad back pass from Adrien Thomasson in the 14th minute, well anticipated by Saka. The Englishman was able to calmly serve Gabriel Jesus, who himself did not need to be asked to cross his shot to perfection and crucify Brice Samba and the Lensois supporters.
But the Sang et Or did not let themselves be defeated, and Thomasson was the first, since after missing a first volley in the 23rd minute, he placed his second opportunity in the back of the net. With a surgical curled recovery, the former Strasbourg player warded off fate and equalized in the 25th minute, honoring Wahi’s magnificent acrobatic deviation to serve him. The evening continued to deteriorate for Arsenal with Bukayo Saka leaving with a muscle injury before half-time, replaced by Fabio Vieira.
Faithful to their ambitious game, responding perfectly to the English in the intensity and carried by a Brice Samba of the great evenings, the Lensois delivered a successful score, which even became perfect when Elye Wahi capsized the stadium in the 69th minute. On a perfect back serve from Frankowski, Wahi showed great lucidity coupled with great technical mastery to cover the ball, sending an unstoppable half-volley into David Raya’s small left net. Taking advantage of the spaces on the sides, the Lensois pistons and attackers made misery for the Arsenal full-backs throughout the match, and the repeated crosses ended up paying off. Then the Sang et Or turned their backs to achieve this prestigious success, pushed by an entire stadium which had been waiting for a star-studded evening for more than two decades.
In the other Group B match, PSV Eindhoven, although dominant, had to wait until the last minute to snatch the equalizer and a precious point at home against Sevilla FC (2-2). In Pool A, Manchester United experienced a nightmare evening at the Old Trafford Theater of Dreams. The Red Devils, clumsy in construction and abandoned by a desperate defense, lost at home against Galatasaray (2-3) despite a double from Rasmus Hojlund. After their defeat against Bayern (4-3), they no longer have the right to make mistakes if they want to go to the round of 16. Bayern was also scared in Copenhagen, but the Bavarians managed to overthrow the Danes at the end of the match, thanks in particular to the liberating goal from Frenchman Mathys Tel in the 83rd (1-2).
In Group C, the away teams also shone. Real Madrid dominated Naples at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (2-3). The Neapolitans showed themselves to be fighters but were overtaken in the game by the Merengues who mastered their subject. Braga, missing the point in the first half in Berlin, ended up overthrowing the Union despite a fragile defense, thanks to a goal from Castro in the 94th (2-3). The Portuguese are back in Naples in the standings, with three points each behind Real who have six.
In Group D, Inter showed their collective rigor and asphyxiated Benfica in the second half to win 1-0 thanks to a goal from Marcus Thuram in the 62nd minute. For its part, RB Salzburg hosted Real Sociedad and the Austrians were much less solid. Already led 2-0 at half-time by the dominant and even flamboyant Basques in the game, Salzburg never managed to react and lost at home, after winning by the same score of 2-0 at Benfica during the first day. Inter and Real Sociedad are joint leaders with four points, Benfica is last with two defeats and already in bad shape.
Subscribe to enjoy the Champions League
Find all the results of the Champions League days
On each day of the Champions League, you will be able to find all of the group stage rankings.
The group stage of the Football Champions League will be played from Tuesday September 19, 2023 to Wednesday December 13, 2023. As for the final, it has been set for June 1, 2024.
The battle for TV rights continued to rage before this Champions League season. UEFA has awarded the French TV rights for the “Big Ears Cup” to beIN Sports and Canal, which will thus ensure the broadcast of the Champions League. RMC Sport will co-broadcast the two best Champions League posters with Canal until 2024 and beIN SPORTS will offer all of the remaining matches.
