By Abdulrahman Yahaya
Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain began their Champions League defence with a 6-1 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava in Paris on Wednesday night.
Last season’s runners-up Arsenal laboured to a 1-0 victory in Napoli, courtesy of a late Captain Odegaard strike; while Liverpool edged Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield.
In Paris, Ousmane Dembele scored twice before new PSG signing Faran Torres scored a hat-trick as Luis Enrique’s men thrashed Slovak Bratislava coached by former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.
PSG were 5 goals up in 57 minutes before Suleiman Camara pulled one back. Fabian Ruiz scored the sixth goal in stoppage time as the Champions wrapped up an emphatic win at home.
Arsenal continued their excellent performance in the champions league that saw them win all 8 league-phase fixtures last season with an away win over Napoli.
Captain Odegaad who scored the winner against Chelsea at the weekend once again won the game for his side with a thunderous shot in the 75th Minute.
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta said the result did not reflect the performance.
“The result probably doesn’t reflect the performance,” Arteta said.
“We created many chances against a tough opponent. We had courage. It was a shame we missed so many big chances,” he added.
At Anfield, Liverpool came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 after falling behind in the 17th minute.
Marcos Lorrente gave the Spanish side the lead when he finished an excellent counter-attack, but goals from Szoboslai and Mac Allister gave the English side all three points.
“It was ups and downs all the time, they have a good team. I think we have a good team as well. We gave everything that we had,” Liverpool midfielder Szoboslai said.
Earlier, LaLiga Champions Barcelona thrashed Feyenoord 5-1 at the Camp Nou, with Raphinha, Yamal, Karim Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus scoring for the Catalans.
Another six fixtures are scheduled for Thursday, including three-time European champions Manchester United at home to Azerbaijani debutants Sabah, who came through four preliminary rounds of knockout matches to reach the group phase. (Reuters/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Joseph Edeh