Erling Haaland’s double could not prevent Manchester City from suffering a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, while Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick as Liverpool claimed a thrilling 6-3 victory over LASK in Wednesday’s Champions League action.
Man City endured a difficult first half at the Etihad Stadium as the reigning European champions took control through goals from Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha.
Doué opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Dembélé doubled PSG’s advantage less than two minutes later. Vitinha then made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side with a mountain to climb.
Man City strike back
Haaland pulled one back eight minutes after the restart, reaching 60 Champions League goals in just 60 appearances.
However, Maghnes Akliouche restored PSG’s three-goal cushion in the 62nd minute.
The Norwegian struck again in the 75th minute to give Man City hope, but PSG held on to inflict Maresca’s first defeat of the season.
Man City also struck the woodwork through Enzo Fernández and Haaland before Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a penalty from Ferran Torres.
Too little, too late
Maresca admitted his team struggled after conceding twice in quick succession but was encouraged by their second-half response.
“It was a strange game. Two goals in two minutes created some problems for us,” he said.
“Second half we made changes and adjusted some things, then we were much better.”
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Barcola leads Liverpool to six-goal victory
Liverpool enjoyed a more productive European night, defeating LASK 6-3 in Austria to secure back-to-back Champions League wins.
Barcola was the standout performer, scoring the first hat-trick of his career as Liverpool’s attack overwhelmed the hosts.
Ronald Araujo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before Barcola struck twice in the first half to put the visitors firmly in control.
Jeremie Frimpong extended Liverpool’s lead after the interval, and Barcola completed his hat-trick in the 66th minute.
Lewis Koumas added a sixth six minutes later, capping an impressive attacking display that also featured a strong performance from Florian Wirtz.
LASK responded through Robert Ljubicic and two goals from Florian Flecker, exposing defensive weaknesses that Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola will want to address.
Barcola shines, defensive issues notable
Iraola praised Barcola’s all-round contribution, saying the forward “was always a threat attacking the spaces in behind”.
The Liverpool boss was less satisfied with his side’s defending late in the game, admitting they “didn’t defend properly at the end”.
While Man City were left to reflect on a missed opportunity against the European champions, Liverpool’s emphatic victory provided a timely response after their recent domestic defeat to Maresca’s side.
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