Manchester City Secure Victory While Inter Maintain Unbeaten Run and Barcelona Draw in Champions League Action
Manchester City secured a comfortable 4-1 victory against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten record in the Champions League, as Inter Milan continued their flawless run, and Barcelona managed to earn a draw away at Club Brugge.
Phil Foden scored twice with fine curls from distance, and Erling Haaland added his fifth goal of the tournament, helping City dominate Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium.
Waldemar Anton managed a consolation goal for Dortmund, but Rayan Cherki sealed the win for City with a late strike in added time.
Pep Guardiolas team now has 10 points from four games and occupies fourth place in the standings midway through the league stage.
"We are well placed, and with a victory over Leverkusen plus a couple more, we could aim for a top eight finish," Guardiola said to TNT Sports, praising Fodens outstanding performance.
"I would say he is already back at his peak. He does not need to work on getting there. He is there now. We have missed some chances lately, but he delivered two brilliant goals," Guardiola added.
Inter rejoined Bayern Munich and Arsenal at the summit with their fourth consecutive win, edging out Kazakh side Kairat Almaty in a tight contest.
Ofri Arad levelled the score shortly after the break following Lautaro Martinezs initial goal, but Carlos Augusto fired in a powerful low shot to secure a 2-1 triumph for Inter, boosting their chances of direct qualification to the knockout rounds.
Barcelona fought back from deficits three times to claim a 3-3 draw in Belgium, with Lamine Yamal playing a key role despite defensive vulnerabilities.
The Barca backline was exposed repeatedly by the home side, as Brugge forward Carlos Forbs netted twice and assisted Nicolo Tresoldi.
Ferran Torres, Yamal, and an own goal by Christos Tzolis spared Barcelona from a potential embarrassing loss, despite missing several key players to injury.
"Its a match we should have won, but we need to improve significantly," Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said to Movistar.
"We must make adjustments, as we are aware, and we are addressing it. Conceding three goals makes it tough to secure a win."
Chelsea Stumble While Newcastle Prevail
Alejandro Garnacho came to Chelseas rescue with a leveller, salvaging a 2-2 draw against Qarabag for the Argentine.
Enzo Marescas team risked an ignominious defeat in Baku after trailing in the opening period.
Estevao Willian put Chelsea ahead early, but Leandro Andrade responded, and Marko Jankovic slotted home a penalty to raise hopes of an upset for the Azerbaijani underdogs.
The former Manchester United winger Garnacho entered as a substitute and calmly finished to rescue the Blues after the restart.
"The main gap was in the penalty area," Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca noted.
"We let in avoidable goals once more, and we might have converted more from the opportunities we generated."
Dan Burns excellent header paved the way for Newcastles 2-0 home success over Athletic Bilbao.
Joelinton doubled the advantage soon after the interval, marking the Magpies third win in four European fixtures and lifting them to sixth in the table.
"Very happy with todays result," Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told TNT Sports. "We had a short turnaround before this fixture. We were not at our peak, but our standing in the competition is strong now."
Jose Mourinhos Benfica suffered a fourth successive loss as Patrik Schick scored the lone goal in Bayer Leverkusens 1-0 triumph in Lisbon.
Ajax remain pointless after Victor Osimhen claimed a hat-trick to inspire Galatasarays 3-0 win in Amsterdam.
Osimhen leads the scoring charts with six goals in this seasons Champions League, edging ahead of Haaland, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe.
Lazar Samardzic struck in the 90th minute to give Atalanta a 1-0 win at Marseille in the Velodrome, even after missing an early spot-kick.
Cypriot newcomers Pafos notched their inaugural victory by defeating Villarreal 1-0, courtesy of a second-half header from Dutch centre-back Derrick Luckassen.