Geneva, September 15 (BUS): It was Erling Haaland’s bid for the Champions League even one night when Paris Saint-Germain superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all scored in victory.
Manchester City also trailed, deep in the game, at home on Wednesday against former Haaland club Borussia Dortmund in a superb quick meeting with Norway’s prodigy.
The stage was set for Haaland to win 2-1 after team-mate John Stones equalized the match with a stunning strike in the 80th minute.
Haaland rose to the challenge in the 84th minute when he met a high cross with a twisting jump and an acrobatic shot to send a ball into goal that seemed to pass him.
The goal was 26 in just 21 Champions League games for Haaland, who has scored for City in six consecutive games and has a better than-a-goal-per-game average this season, the Associated Press reported.
City’s late win restored some order one evening when more surprising results emerged in a competition that has been unpredictable this season.
Midway through the second half across Europe, City and Juventus were losing at home, Real Madrid were goalless at home and PSG tied in Israel after coming late.
Messi tied PSG just before the break in Maccabi Haifa, but it took until the 69th minute for Mbappe to take the lead and Neymar winning 3-1 in the 88th minute.
Madrid had to wait until the 80th minute to advance with a 2-0 win over Leipzig. Fede Valverde’s opening goal was followed by Marco Asensio’s sweeping shot in stoppage time.
But Juventus did not find the late goals they needed against Benfica and lost again in a row 2-1 after defeat in Paris last week.
After wasting the lead in the fourth minute by Arcadius Milik, Juventus lost a penalty by Joao Mario to Benfica before the end of the first half and David Neres’ goal in the 55th minute.
Former Neres club Shakhtar Donetsk – who left the Brazilian winger unplayed after signing him just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine – continued their unbeaten run this season with a 1-1 draw with Celtic who dominated much of the game.
Shakhtar could have a star playmaker in Mikhailo Modric, who scored with a powerful left-footed shot for the second game in a row. Shakhtar hosted the match at Legia Warsaw in neighboring Poland for security reasons.
A difficult night for Scottish clubs saw Rangers lose 3-0 at home to Napoli despite 40-year-old goalkeeper Alan McGregor saving two penalties early in the second half.
Napoli got three penalties, through the second was a re-execution after an overtaking error when Matteo Politano followed up McGregor’s first save to score from the rebound.
On his second attempt, Piotr Zieliński fired the penalty in the same spot and McGregor saved again.
When Napoli were awarded another penalty 10 minutes later from a handball, Politano stepped up and scored even though McGregor smashed the ball into the net. Napoli added late goals from substitutes Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele.
Rangers were reduced to 10 men after James Sands, the United States international on loan from New York City, was sent off when the first penalty was awarded.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter’s first game, in charge of the 2021 European champions, was a 1-1 draw at home to a team that exceeded expectations for Salzburg.
Chelsea led Raheem Sterling’s shot into the net in the 48th minute and was snagged by Noah Okafor’s goal in the 75th minute. Swiss international Okafor also scored in last week’s draw with AC Milan, who top Group E.
Milan lost a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb, where Raphael Liao was brilliant and veteran Frenchman Olivier Giroud opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 45th minute.
Copenhagen and Seville drew 0-0 in Denmark and are still without any goal in Group G, led by Man City.
Six days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland, Rangers fans displayed a giant mosaic across one end of the entire stadium of a Union Jack flag superimposed on the silhouette of the Queen’s head as the teams came onto the field. A minute’s silence followed by the singing of the British national anthem.
Celtic players wore black armbands even though fans in Warsaw held an expletive-word banner at the end of their stadium in Warsaw. This reflected the club’s historical ties to Ireland and the opposition of some fans to the British monarchy.
The Champions League is now suspended for three weeks during the international break for national teams.