dpa
Berlin
Barcelona took another big win in the Champions League as they thrashed Red Star Belgrade 5-2, while Bayern Munich claimed hard-fought three points in a 1-0 win against Benfica on Wednesday.
Silas cancelled out Barcelona’s opener through Inigo Martinez, but Robert Lewandowski put the Spanish team ahead again before the break.
The Pole then completed his brace to shatter any hopes of reaction Red Star might have, while Raphinha and Fermin Lopez sealed the win before the hosts pulled one back through Felicio Milson.
Bayern were desperate to win after losing their last two Champions League games, but needed time to finally break the deadlock in the 67th minute thanks to Jamal Musiala.
VfB Stuttgart suffered their second defeat in four games with a 2-0 loss at home to Atalanta, while Haka Calhanoglu’s spot-kick secured Inter Milan a 1-0 win against Arsenal.
Elsewhere, Brest defeated Sparta Prague 2-1, Red Bull Salzburg won 3-1 at Feyenoord and Atletico Madrid claimed a late 2-1 comeback win at Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona again score four goals or more
Barceona started their Champions League season with a 2-1 setback at Monaco, but have won the following three matches by scoring four goals or more - including a 4-1 thrashing of Bayern.
Martinez completed Raphinha’s free-kick into the net in the 13th, but Red Star sparked a reaction as Rade Krunic threaded the ball through the Barcelona defence for the run of Silas, who chipped a fine finish over the onrushing Inaki Pena.
But Lewandowski restored Barça’s lead in the 43rd and was again on target in the 53rd. Raphinha got one himself just two minutes later and Lopez also added his name to the scoresheet in the 76th.
Felicio Milson’s goal in the 84th came too late for Red Star.
Bayern back to
winning ways
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany will breathe a sigh of relief as he managed to ease any mounting pressure in the Champions League with a narrow win against Benfica.
The Bavarians had a dominant performance from start to finish but struggled to find their way through a stubborn Benfica.
But they were finally on target in the 67th after Kane’s header was cleared, but
Musiala was free to power a header past goalkeeper Anatolyi Trubin.
“Sometimes 1-0 is enough. It was important to take the three points today,” Musiala told broadcasters DAZN.
The kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to the difficulty of many fans getting to the stadium after a signal box malfunction affected the subway traffic to the Allianz Arena.
Atletico stun PSG
Warren Zaïre-Emery broke the deadlock for PSG in the 14th to delight the home fans, but their lead was short lived as Nahuel Molina equalized for Atletico just four minutes later.
It looked like both teams would share the points, but Atletico charged up the pitch on a counterattack and substitute Angel Correa curled home the winner with the last kick of the game.
“The team put in a great effort at a difficult stadium. Paris played very well, they attacked the whole match, but we were confident, we worked hard in defence and as a team, and we got our goal at the end to claim victory,” Correa told Movistar.
PSG are now winless in three Champions League games, in a run that includes two defeats.
In Stuttgart, the home team pushed hard for an equalizer after Ademola Lookman struck the opener for Atalanta in the 51st.
But the Italians kept their perfect record of not conceding a goal so far in the league phase and sealed the victory thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo in the 88th.
“They were ice-cold in front of the goal, and we were not. That was a difficult opponent,” Stuttgart’s Chris Führich said.
Villa’s winning run ends with bizarre mistake
Aston Villa had their perfect record in the Champions League shattered after a bizarre mistake from Tyrone Mings culminated in a 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge.
Mings picked up the ball with his hands inside the box after Emiliano Martinez took a goal kick, before giving it back to the goalkeeper.
The clear action didn’t go unnoticed and Brugge were awarded a penalty, calmly converted by Hans Vanaken in the 52nd minute.
Villa coach Unai Emery said that Mings’ error was “the biggest mistake I witnessed in my career.”
Villa had won their three games before the trip to Brugge and Wednesday’s defeat means that Liverpool are now the only team who haven’t dropped points in four Champions League matches this season.
In the other early game, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Young Boys 2-1.
