Paris Saint-Germain net seven as Barcelona and Arsenal dominate in Champions League goal spree
Paris Saint-Germain notched up seven goals in a convincing win, while Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven each claimed six in impressive triumphs, and Arsenal delivered a 4-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid during a goal-laden Champions League evening on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland contributed to Manchester Citys 2-0 success over Villarreal, contributing to a grand total of 43 goals across the nine matches.
Yet, the defending champions PSG captured the spotlight with their 7-2 triumph over Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.
Desire Doue bagged a brace, sandwiched around strikes from Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG, during a first half where Alejandro Grimaldo squandered a spot-kick and Aleix Garcia converted from the penalty spot for Leverkusen.
Each team lost a player to a red card in the initial half, as Robert Andrich was dismissed for Leverkusen and Illia Zabarnyi followed suit for the away side.
Nuno Mendes added the French teams fifth goal soon into the second period, and Garcia narrowed the gap to 5-2.
Ousmane Dembele, making his comeback from injury and debut since securing the Ballon dOr, slotted home PSGs sixth, with Vitinha sealing the result in the closing moments.
"I am not quite at full fitness yet. I was eager to feature at the weekend, but the manager advised me to hold off a little, though I felt excellent," Dembele shared with Canal Plus broadcaster.
This marks the initial occasion PSG have tallied seven away goals in a Champions League fixture, placing them at the summit of the table after three league phase matches, boasting a perfect nine points and superior goal difference.
Gyokeres breaks dry spell
Inter Milan and Arsenal join as the sole sides with flawless records after three games, the Italian outfit securing a comfortable 4-0 away victory against Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.
Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez struck towards the end of the opening half, followed by Hakan Calhanoglus penalty conversion post-interval and a finish from Pio Esposito.
Meanwhile, the Premier League frontrunners Arsenal demolished Atletico at the Emirates, as Mikel Artetas squad achieved three consecutive victories, all with shutouts, in European competition this term.
The scoring unfolded entirely after the break, with Gabriel opening the account, Gabriel Martinelli doubling the lead, and Viktor Gyokeres adding a double to conclude a seven-match club goal drought.
"Fingers crossed this kicks off a string of superb performances now," Arteta remarked about the Swedish forward.
Haaland strikes once more
Haaland gave City the edge versus Villarreal in Spain, and Bernardo Silva added their second before the interval, propelling Pep Guardiolas group to seven points from three fixtures.
The Norwegian sensation Haaland maintained his extraordinary scoring form this campaign, now with 15 goals in 11 outings for City across all tournaments.
"I notice progress is evident, we are improving slightly each day, which is encouraging," Guardiola commented to Movistar broadcaster.
Felix Nmecha notched a pair as Borussia Dortmund prevailed 4-2 at FC Copenhagen, Ramy Bensebaini burying a penalty and Fabio Silva also scoring.
Waldemar Antons unfortunate own goal had equalised for the hosts midway through the first half, while Viktor Dadason grabbed their late consolation. The Danes remain winless in the league phase.
Following a home defeat to PSG in their prior outing, Barcelona rebounded with a 6-1 demolition of Olympiacos at Montjuic, Fermin Lopez shining via a treble.
Lamine Yamal earned his goal from the spot, Marcus Rashford tallied twice, and Ayoub El Kaabis penalty offered minimal relief for the Greek outfit.
Newcastle United secured their second successive competition win with a 3-0 home success over Benfica at St James Park.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring, and substitute Harvey Barnes netted a brace post-half-time, rendering Jose Mourinhos Benfica the lone side pointless after three encounters.
PSV pulled off an emphatic 6-2 victory over Italian title holders Napoli at home, even after Scott McTominay put the guests ahead early in the first half.
An own goal from Alessandro Buongiorno levelled matters, Ismael Saibari nosed PSV in front, then Dennis Man doubled up, alongside goals from Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech.
McTominay responded with another for Napoli, who saw Lorenzo Lucca receive his marching orders.
The evenings remaining fixture concluded in a goalless stalemate between underdogs Kairat Almaty and Cypriot team Pafos in Kazakhstan.