Liverpool down Real Madrid in Champions League, Bayern edge PSG
Alexis Mac Allister netted the sole goal to give Liverpool victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Luis Diaz notched two goals to help Bayern Munich defeat defending champions Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Paris.
Arsenal, at the top of the Premier League, secured a 3-0 win away to Slavia Prague, with young talent Max Dowman entering as a substitute to become the youngest ever player in the tournament, aged only 15 years and 308 days.
Bayern, who lead the way, and Arsenal in second place are still the sole sides with flawless records in the event, joined by Inter Milan, scheduled for their fourth fixture on Wednesday versus Kazakh newcomers Kairat Almaty.
In Anfield, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois delivered an outstanding showing to deny the six-time winners Liverpool multiple times.
His display echoed his crucial performance in the 2022 final versus the same foes, where the Spanish team triumphed 1-0, as he made eight stops to thwart the home side.
"He is a fantastic 'keeper, we all know," Mac Allister shared with Amazon Prime. "But today I think we were better and deserved to win."
The Argentine finally overcame Courtois' defence just past the hour mark with a header from Dominik Szoboszlai's free-kick, in a game where ex-Liverpool favourite Trent Alexander-Arnold faced boos upon coming on late for Madrid from the substitutes.
Arne Slot hopes this outcome signals a shift for his team, who entered the clash on the back of six losses in their last eight matches.
For Madrid, previously without a loss, this marked their initial setback in any tournament since the 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid back in September.
"It's a tough blow to take because we came from a run of good games, but the important thing is to move forwards," Real's Fede Valverde commented to Movistar.
Just the beginning
PSG hosted Bayern at Parc des Princes in a match that midfielder Vitinha described as pitting "the two best teams in Europe" against each other.
The Bundesliga title holders prevailed, extending their streak to 16 victories across all competitions this term.
"I know the Champions League winner is not decided now, otherwise PSG would not have won it last season," Bayern manager Vincent Kompany remarked.
"But this was a very important three points."
New arrival Diaz stole the spotlight with a pair of goals before receiving a red card for a reckless challenge on Achraf Hakimi, all within the first half.
Hakimi left the pitch in distress, following Ballon d'Or recipient Ousmane Dembele, who departed after 25 minutes.
Bayern went ahead within the first five minutes and then dominated PSG's typically solid midfield and backline through their high-energy pressing.
Diaz added another by dispossessing Marquinhos and finishing coolly after the half-hour.
His sending-off altered the contest, allowing PSG to press in the second half, yet Joao Neves' header in the 74th minute proved insufficient to prevent the Ligue 1 leaders from their debut loss in this season's group stage.
Bayern now top the table with a maximum 12 points.
Arsenal follow closely after a triumph in the Czech Republic, inspired by Mikel Merino, marking their fourth straight win.
The Spaniard scored twice after the break to confirm the result against Slavia Prague, following Bukayo Saka's penalty in the 32nd minute.
Another shutout keeps Mikel Arteta's squad unbeaten at the back in the competition this year.
"We are a very strong team, we are performing in an amazing way with a lot of clean sheets," Merino stated.
"But we know that this is just the beginning and we have to keep up this good work in the future to win big things."
In other action, Micky van de Ven's impressive individual goal featured as Europa League champions Tottenham thrashed FC Copenhagen 4-0 at home.
Atletico Madrid bounced back from a prior heavy loss to Arsenal by beating Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1.
Serie A outfits Napoli and Juventus faced disappointing stalemates, with the Italian champions drawing 0-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt at home and Sporting Lisbon holding Juventus 1-1, the latter's third tie this season.
Monaco claimed their initial victory, 1-0 over Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt, while PSV Eindhoven shared points 1-1 with Olympiacos.
Wednesday brings Inter Milan aiming to catch Bayern and Arsenal at the summit, Manchester City welcoming Borussia Dortmund, and Athletic Bilbao visiting Newcastle at St James' Park.