UCL Wrap

Barcelona, thanks to Lionel Messi’s 100th European goal, Manchester United and PSG all maintained perfect records, while Chelsea and AS Roma drew 3-3 in London.

Group A

Benfica 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United took a huge stride towards the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday, seeing off a toothless Benfica 1-0 to make it three wins out of three thanks to a goalkeeping howler. Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock midway through the second half when an inswinging free-kick from the left was carried over his line by teenage goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

CSKA Moscow 0-2 Basel
Goals either side of halftime earned Basel a 2-0 win at CSKA Moscow on Wednesday to keep the Swiss side in second place in Champions League Group A. Midfielder Taulant Xhaka sped past CSKA’s sluggish backline and unleashed a powerful low drive that beat veteran goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev in the right corner to put Basle up in the 29th minute.

Group B

Bayern Munich 3-0 Celtic
Jupp Heynckes enjoyed a successful Champions League return on Wednesday as Bayern Munich got their Group B campaign back on track with a 3-0 home win against Celtic. Bayern captain Thomas Mueller put the hosts ahead after 17 minutes before Germany defender Joshua Kimmich made it two with a header just before the half-hour mark.

Anderlecht 0-4 PSG
Paris Saint-Germain’s front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani all scored as the French side romped to a third straight Champions League win by thrashing Anderlecht 4-0 in Brussels on Wednesday. Mbappe put PSG ahead inside three minutes and Cavani grabbed his fourth goal in three Champions League outings before halftime.

Group C

Chelsea 3-3 Roma
Eden Hazard came to Chelsea’s rescue after his side blew a two-goal lead in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday. Antonio Conte’s team looked on course for a comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to first-half goals from David Luiz and Hazard at Stamford Bridge. But Roma’s Aleksandar Kolarov struck before halftime to spark a stirring fightback from the Serie A side.

Qarabag 0-0 Atlético
The Azerbaijani debutants picked up their first ever point in the tournament despite finishing with 10 men following the 75th-minute dismissal of Dino Ndlovu. Atlético are still winless.

Group D

Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos
Barcelona shrugged off an early Gerard Pique red card and the distractions of a first match at the Camp Nou since a violent crackdown of an independence referendum in Catalonia to beat Olympiakos 3-1 on Wednesday. A Dimitrios Nikolaou own goal and second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne ensured a comfortable evening for the hosts on the field, while the political tension sweeping across Catalonia was seen in the stands despite a low turnout due to torrential rain.

Juventus 2-1 Sporting CP
Juventus rallied from a bizarre Alex Sandro own goal to battle past Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Wednesday and move second behind Barcelona in Champions League Group D. The Portuguese visitors surged ahead after 12 minutes in the Allianz Stadium when the ball accidentally bounced off the Brazilian left-back and into his own net after Gianluigi Buffon had saved from Gelson Martins.

Tuesday’s results

Group E
Maribor 0-7 Liverpool
Spartak Moskva 5-1 Sevilla

Group F
Feyenoord 1-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City 2-1 Napoli

Group G
RB Leipzig 3-2 Porto
Monaco 1-2 Besiktas

Group H
Real Madrid 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
APOEL 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

SUPERSPORTS