Geneva, October 6 (BNA): Manchester City and Real Madrid advanced with their third consecutive Champions League victory, coach Julen Lopetegui was sent off by struggling Sevilla in minutes after a 4-1 loss at home to Borussia Dortmund.
The Paris Saint-Germain match was held for the first time despite Lionel Messi’s superb opening goal in a 1-1 draw with Benfica, the Associated Press reported.
Erling Haaland was only wanted in the first half, but he still scored twice in what has become a routine defeat for Man City this season, 5-0 at home to Copenhagen.
He’s now five goals in three Champions League games and 19 in 12 club games overall for the unrelenting Norway striker.
Real Madrid are making less exciting progress in defending their title, but scored 35 attempts on goal in fending off Shakhtar Donetsk for a 2-1 victory.
Young Brazilian strikers Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior opened up a five-point lead in Group F over Shakhtar ahead of the return leg in Poland next week.
Lopetegui’s exit from Sevilla, where he won the European League title in 2020, looked likely after just one win in seven La Liga games and left the team 17th in the table.
This was confirmed after the loss to the rampant Dortmund, which followed the four-goal loss to Manchester City in the previous Spanish team’s match at home in Group G, and fans chanted Lopetegui’s name as he left the field.
Paris Saint-Germain went to Benfica and tied on six points and tied on seven after a lively and elaborate match in Lisbon.
Messi’s 127th goal of his Champions League career was a curling iron after connecting passes with fellow strikers Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Also in Group H, Juventus closed the gap on the leaders with its first points in a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa. French midfielder Adrien Rabiot scored in each half.
Chelsea claimed their first win in the competition for new coach Graham Potter, bypassing AC Milan 3-0, although Salzburg tops Group E.
Noah Okafor kept his goal average in the Champions League match to lead Salzburg to a 1-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Christopher Nkunko, the French striker who was a widely expected Chelsea transfer target, opened the scoring in Leipzig’s 3-1 win over Celtic in the Madrid-led group.
double halland
Right sweeping shot from near the penalty area. Shot a goal pounces on a loose ball after a goalkeeper was saved. But there is no hat-trick this time for the prolific Man City striker.
Haaland was sacked in the first half as coach Pep Guardiola allowed the other young players to shine, and Julian Alvarez, who joined in the off-season from River Plate, scored City’s fifth in the 76th minute.
The English champions are now unbeaten in 21 home games over four years in the elite European competition. Lyon was the last visiting team to win.
LOPETEGUI OUT
Lopetegui rebuilt his career in Seville after a disastrous 2018, when he was sacked as Spain’s coach at the World Cup – before the first game in Russia – for agreeing to join Real Madrid after the tournament. Then he was expelled from Madrid before the end of October.
Three full seasons in Seville brought the club the European League title and three consecutive qualifications to the Champions League.
Sevilla was expected to reappoint Jorge Sampaoli, who left for the first time to lead Argentina to the 2018 World Cup. Sampaoli has been around since leaving Marseille in the off-season after leading the club back to the Champions League.
Di Maria Deligues
Three assists from Angel Di Maria ensured that Juventus finally secured their first points after losses to Paris Saint-Germain and at home to Benfica – both former clubs of the Argentina winger.
Rabiot scored in each half against Maccabi Haifa, on both sides of Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic in the 50th minute.
“I’m trying to do my job, that’s what makes me happy, making assists in scoring goals,” Di Maria said.
red polish
Old allies with Red Bull, Leipzig and Salzburg racked up early wins on Wednesday.
Salzburg are now Group E leaders unbeaten after Okafor’s penalty kick in the 71st minute was enough to beat Dinamo Zagreb. The 22-year-old Swiss striker is the next talent who could follow the sluggish path from the Austrian champions to the German sister club.
Leipzig earned its first Group F point with two late goals from Portugal striker Andre Silva to lose to Celtic 3-1, leaving the Scottish champions in last place.