Champions League wrap: PSG held despite Messi record; Haaland on song again; Wins for Real, Chelsea, Juventus

Indian Super League Prediction

April 19 2024, 07:30 PM

Odisha

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Bengaluru, October 6: Lionel Messi set another UEFA Champions League record, but it was not enough for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to beat Benfica, who clinched a 1-1 draw while Erling Haaland added two more goals to his ever-increasing season total as Manchester City enjoyed a simple 5-0 win against Copenhagen.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe cleverly combined in the 22nd minute to allow Messi to curl home and become the first player to score against 40 teams in the Champions League.

However, Danilo Pereira awkwardly sent Enzo Fernandez' cross into his own net to restore parity at Estadio da Luz.

Though PSG had the better second-half chances, boss Christophe Galtier missed the chance to become the third coach in club history to win his first three Champions League games, though his side remain top of Group H on goals scored.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was the busier of the two goalkeepers early on, making important stops to deny Goncalo Ramos and David Neres as Benfica shaded the early exchanges.

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Meanwhile, Haaland's first-half brace was followed by a Davit Khocholava own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and a tap-in from Julian Alvarez as Pep Guardiola's side eased to victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland keeps scoring

That makes it 19 goals in 12 games in all competitions for the former Borussia Dortmund star following his hat-trick in the recent derby win over Manchester United.

City have a 100 per cent record in Group G after three games and need just two more points to seal their place in the last 16. To the surprise of nobody, Haaland opened the scoring inside seven minutes, slamming home Joao Cancelo's low cross with his right foot.

Real maintains clean slate

Elsehwhere, Real Madrid made it three wins from as many games after seeing off Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Santiago Bernabeu. Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior were on target in the first half as the reigning champions maintained their perfect start in Group F.

Having converted only two of 35 shots on goal - thanks mainly to an inspired performance by Shakhtar goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin - Madrid were hanging on after Oleksandr Zubkov halved the deficit before the break.

Juventus prevails

Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot's brace helped Juventus to a much-needed 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa, boosting their hopes of progressing from Group H. The Bianconeri approached the match requiring a victory after successive European losses against PSG and Benfica, and they hit the front through Rabiot's powerful first-half finish.

Angel Di Maria starred with a hat-trick of assists, including a sublime pass to allow Dusan Vlahovic to double Juventus' lead shortly after the break. Juventus came under pressure after Dean David raced through to reduce the arrears, but Rabiot's late header made the points safe and eased the pressure on Massimiliano Allegri.

Chelsea opens account

Earlier, Chelsea won their first game in Group E as goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James sealed a resounding 3-0 victory over AC Milan. Graham Potter's side had picked up just one point from their opening two games against Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb, but victory at Stamford Bridge against the Serie A champions has revived their bid to reach the knockout stages.

However, Celtic's hopes of qualification for last-16 suffered another blow as they slumped to a 1-2 defeat to RB Leipzig following a Joe Hart howler.

(With Agency inputs)