Champions League Goal Rush: PSG Beat Barcelona but Lose Star, Como Stun Manchester United
European football's biggest stage delivered another week of goal rushes. Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 on Tuesday, but the joy was dimmed by an injury to their best player; meanwhile, Manchester United's crisis deepened with a 4-1 defeat at Italy's Como, and an 18-year-old stole the show in Liverpool's thrilling win.
The biggest blow of PSG's winning night concerns Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian star, the best player of last season's tournament, is expected to be out for around six months. 'Why me?' he asked his Instagram followers. PSG's policy of resting players in Ligue 1 to save them for the Champions League failed to protect him.
For Barcelona, Lamine Yamal scored a brilliant goal in Paris, taking his tally this season to 10 goals and 10 assists from 10 matches. Despite facing Real Madrid this weekend, Yamal is not being spared — a sign of his form and importance.
In another heavyweight battle, Arsenal drew 2-2 at Bayern Munich but lost Bukayo Saka to a first-half quad injury. After Harry Kane put on a show with a goal and an assist, Declan Rice powered in a late equaliser. Prediction markets now suggest the Ballon d'Or may beckon for Kane.
Manchester City have matched Barcelona's perfect record at home and abroad. A resurgent Phil Foden scored a hat-trick and new signing Allan impressed as City beat AEK Athens 5-1. The official crowd was 40,402, but visibly empty seats drew mockery; high ticket prices and a run of five home matches in 17 days were cited in mitigation.
Anfield was not full either for Liverpool's 4-3 defeat of Villarreal. Liverpool were a mess in the first 30 minutes, and 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha led the recovery, playing off the right and supplying two assists with his left foot. It was his fifth start of the season, and Mohamed Salah's long-term replacement may already be at Anfield. Captain Virgil van Dijk said working with Salah last year was massive for the teenager.
It was a near-perfect week for Italian clubs, with three of them scoring four goals. Inter beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 and Roma defeated Slovan Bratislava 4-0, while in the game of the week in Naples, Napoli beat Bodo/Glimt 4-3. Scott McTominay scored twice — his first goals since a procedure on a benign heart arrhythmia. 'I still need to find my best form, but I am not far away,' he said.
The week's biggest story was Como. A Serie D club in 2008, they beat Manchester United 4-1 in their first Champions League season. Investors include Champions League winner Thierry Henry and coach Cesc Fabregas himself, with Indonesian billionaires the Hartono brothers as prime financiers. Fabregas, who played under Wenger, Guardiola, Mourinho and Conte, has built a high-pressing style against Italian orthodoxy. Nico Paz, who scored twice against United, was bought by Como in 2024 and Real Madrid hold a buy-back option on him.
At United, tension between manager Michael Carrick and his players has also surfaced. Bruno Fernandes said the decision not to press man-to-man and to leave space was the staff's; Carrick replied, 'If you don't run and you don't run forward and you don't run back, you ain't going to win.' On CBS, Jamie Carragher was also scathing about Fernandes.
After two consecutive weeks of action there is now a fortnight off. Whether Carrick will still be at United when they host Roma on 3 November is the big question. Aston Villa, with three wins from three and second in the table, travel to Barcelona, while Real Madrid, another side on three wins, travel to AEK.
After defeat to Inter, Shakhtar's adopted home Stamford Bridge hosts Sporting Lisbon, who this week were on the wrong end of Lask's first ever group-stage win. All in all, a week of injuries, teenage breakthroughs and giant-killing has made the Champions League group stage even more compelling.
