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Champions League: Real Madrid thrash Salzburg, PSG overcome City in dramatic fashion

By News Update

New Delhi: Matchday 7 of the Champions League delivered an exciting night of football, with thrilling victories and decisive performances across Europe. The action was relentless from Real Madrid’s commanding display against RB Salzburg to Paris Saint-Germain’s remarkable comeback against Manchester City.

Arsenal, Feyenoord, and AC Milan all secured crucial wins to boost their knockout stage hopes, while RB Leipzig edged past Sporting Lisbon in a nail-biter. With other key results shaping the standings, the race for qualification remains intense. Here’s a roundup of the most notable matches from Wednesday’s fixtures, packed with drama, goals, and standout moments.

RB Leipzig 2-1 Sporting Lisbon

RB Leipzig secured their first Champions League points with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon. The game started brightly, with Loïs Openda testing Franco Israel early, while Conrad Harder’s curling shot for Sporting narrowly missed.

Leipzig took the lead midway through the first half with a well-crafted move. Xavi Simons set up David Raum, whose pinpoint cross was finished by Benjamin Šeško. Moments later, Raum thought he had doubled the lead, but VAR ruled out the goal due to Openda interfering from an offside position. Leipzig controlled much of the game, with Simons and Christoph Baumgartner standing out.

After the break, Amadou Haidara hit the post, and Leipzig faced a scare when Viktor Gyökeres came on for Sporting. The Swedish forward equalised in the 75th minute, skipping past Willi Orbán and firing into the top corner.

Leipzig responded instantly, with Yusuf Poulsen bundling home the winner three minutes later. Sporting pushed for another equaliser, but Leipzig held firm to claim a vital victory.

Feyenoord 3-0 Bayern Munich

Feyenoord secured an impressive 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in their Champions League clash, keeping their hopes of a top-eight finish alive. Santiago Gimenez was the star of the show, scoring twice in the first half.

The Mexican striker opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a smart finish and doubled Feyenoord’s lead with a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time. Bayern pushed hard, creating numerous chances and even hitting the woodwork, but Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow made several excellent saves to keep them at bay.

In the 89th minute, substitute Ayase Ueda sealed the victory for Feyenoord, who leapfrogged Bayern in the table. The Dutch side now sit 11th with 13 points, while Bayern dropped to 15th with 12 points after their third defeat in seven matches. Feyenoord’s win puts them in a strong position ahead of the final group stage matchday.

Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb

Arsenal cruised to a dominant 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, edging closer to the Champions League knockout phase. Declan Rice gave the hosts a dream start, firing home inside two minutes after Kai Havertz smartly set him up from Gabriel Martinelli’s cross.

Havertz doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 66th minute with a well-placed header from another Martinelli assist, putting Mikel Arteta’s side firmly in control. Captain Martin Ødegaard sealed the victory with a composed finish in stoppage time, his first goal in 14 matches.

Dinamo showed flashes of danger on the counter, but Arsenal’s defence held firm. The win moved Arsenal to third in the standings with 16 points, needing only a draw at Girona next week to confirm their automatic Round of 16 spot.

Meanwhile, Dinamo face a must-win game against AC Milan to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Manchester City

Manchester City’s Champions League problems got worse as they lost 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. City looked in control after Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scored early in the second half to make it 2-0. But PSG came back strongly and tore through City’s defence.

Bradley Barcola was the star for PSG. He set up Ousmane Dembélé to score their first goal and then added the second himself. João Neves headed in a third, and Gonçalo Ramos scored in injury time to seal the win.

City’s defence struggled all night, and Pep Guardiola’s changes didn’t help. Now, City must beat Club Brugge next week to have any chance of staying in the tournament. For PSG, the win gives them fresh hope of reaching the playoff stage, with their attacking energy making the difference.

AC Milan 1-0 Girona

AC Milan climbed into the Champions League’s top eight with a 1-0 victory over Girona at San Siro. Rafael Leão’s first-half strike proved decisive, as the Portuguese winger smashed a powerful shot into the roof of the net after a neat pass from Ismael Bennacer.

The game lacked fluidity, with both teams struggling to convert chances. Girona had opportunities to equalise, but Milan also failed to capitalise on chances to make the game more comfortable. However, the Rossoneri held firm, securing their fifth straight Champions League win and their first clean sheet under manager Sergio Conceição.

The victory moves Milan to sixth place in the standings, and a draw against Dinamo Zagreb next week should be enough to secure direct qualification for the Round of 16.

Conceição’s evening began with a blow as Emerson Royal limped off early, forcing an early substitution for Davide Calabria. There was a further scare when Tijjani Reijnders went down briefly but recovered to continue. Despite these setbacks, Milan got the job done and will now look to carry this form forward.

Real Madrid 5-1 RB Salzburg

Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win over RB Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Brazilian forwards Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior shining at the Santiago Bernabéu. Both netted twice, while Kylian Mbappé added another to seal the commanding victory.

Rodrygo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a clinical finish from a Vinícius cross. Ten minutes later, he struck again, curling a shot into the net after a clever backheel assist from Jude Bellingham.

Mbappé capitalised on Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich’s mistake early in the second half to score Real’s third. Vinícius then dazzled with two sensational solo efforts in the 55th and 77th minutes to extend the lead further.

Salzburg found a consolation goal through Mads Bidstrup in the 85th minute, but it was far too late to trouble the reigning champions.

Real Madrid, now 16th in the standings with 12 points, have secured their place in the next round. However, they will need a win against Brest and favourable results elsewhere to climb into the top eight and avoid a playoff. Meanwhile, Salzburg, sitting 34th with only three points, are officially out of the competition.

Other results

Shakhtar secured a 2-0 victory over Brest, displaying dominance on home turf. Inter Milan edged past Sparta Praha with a narrow 1-0 win, keeping their qualification hopes alive. Meanwhile, Celtic earned a hard-fought 1-0 triumph against BSC Young Boys, delighting the Parkhead crowd and boosting their chances in the competition.

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