Arsenal secured their first win in the new Champions League format as they overcame Paris St-Germain at Emirates Stadium while fellow Premier League high-fliers Manchester City cruised on the road.
There was a sobering trip to Germany for Celtic, the Scottish side thumped 7-1 by Dortmund, who lead the Champions League league table after two matches.
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In London Mikel Arteta’s side followed up their opening match draw with Atalanta by winning 2-0 thanks to two first-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
“They were absolutely phenomenal in that first half,” Mark Bosnich said on Stan Sport.
“They’ve been threatening this type of performance all season, a complete performance – and that’s what you’ve seen in the first half.
“Wonderful from an attacking perspective, also from a defending perspective as well.”
After the break, Gabriel Martinelli should have put the game well beyond the French side only to thump a volley straight at PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from close range.
From there PSG threatened against Arsenal’s defensive block with Joao Neves hitting the cross bar from a corner.
PSG looked a shadow of the attacking force they were with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar in the frontline, while manager Luis Enrique sat out Ousmane Dembele for disciplinary reasons.
Arsenal were well on top in the opening 45 minutes and went ahead through Havertz’s header after a cross from Leandro Trossard, while Saka scored from out on the touch line when his curling free kick evaded a cluster of players in the box and snuck past Donnarumma.
“Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball,” said Arteta. “The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.
“We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.”
Havertz was named player of the match after another huge shift.
“He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together,” said Arteta. “His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”
City slickers
Phil Foden kick started his season with a goal and an assist as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 win away at Slovan Bratislava.
The England midfielder has had limited time this season but but he made the most of only his second start this term.
After Ilkay Gundogan’s first goal since his return to City came with a deflected strike in the eighth minute, Foden scored his first of this season in the 14th minute.
City hit the frame of the goal three times before adding a third through Erling Haaland while substitute James McAtee scored his first Manchester City goal in the 74th minute.
“Great result, great atmosphere as well. It’s nice to play in the Champions League again,” said Foden.
“Very happy with the performance, I know there’s still things I can work on and get better, I’m still a little bit rusty. Like I said I’m happy with my performance and the team performance.
“I love it, the atmosphere is very good, it was a great experience.”
Pep Guardiola said he expects the performance to reignite Foden.
“Yeah he still is not his best, make a fantastic goal, pass the ball to the post no shoot he had more chances. Step by step he’s coming back,” said Guardiola.
Dortmund thrash Celtic
Karim Adeyemi scored a first-half hat trick as last season’s losing finalists Borussia Dortmund hammered Celtic 7-1 in the Champions League , with five goals in the opening 42 minutes.
The 80,000-strong crowd started the celebrations early at the Westfalenstadion, with Emre Can scoring from the spot in the seventh minute after Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel upended Jamie Gittens and was booked.
Celtic momentarily hushed the deafening Yellow Wall two minutes later when Daizen Maeda bundled in a cross from Arne Engels but Adeyemi restored the lead with a shot deflected in off Auston Trusty in the 11th.
The Germany winger made it 3-1 in the 29th when he lashed a shot into the top corner past a diving Schmeichel, then won a 39th minute penalty for Serhou Guirassy to tuck away and completed his hat trick three minutes later.
Guirassy grabbed his second of the night in the 66th and second-half substitute Felix Nmecha completed the rout in the 79th, with Celtic having Schmeichel to thank for keeping the scoreline to seven.
“A sore one, for sure. We were punished with every mistake we made. Before we knew it, we were 5-1 down. A sobering night,”said Celtic skipper Callum McGregor.
“If you make mistakes like that, you get punished. Credit to Dortmund. We’ve been sobered a little, but we need to take that and bounce back in the next game.
“You get yourself back into the game. The quick goal killed us and rattled us a little bit. When you give good players time on the ball, they will kill you. And that’s what they did.
“I think the game plan was to be in between the two. We understand when you play against good players, you have to suffer a little without the ball. We have to learn from it. We’ve got a lot to think about after that.”
Barca rout Young Boys, AC Milan beaten
Robert Lewandowski got Barcelona off the mark as the Spanish giants eased to a 5-0 home win over Swiss team Young Boys.
Inter Milan defeated Red Star Belgrade 4-0, and Bayer Leverkusen defeated AC Milan 1-0 in Germany.
Daniel Braganca scored late to earn Sporting Lisbon a 1-1 draw at PSV Eindhoven.
Stade Brest had never played in the Champions League before this season. On Tuesday, the French team routed Salzburg 4-0 away for their second win in as many games in Europe’s premier competition.
Senegalese forward Abdallah Sima netted twice to take his tally to three goals in two games after he scored in Brest’s tournament-opening 2-1 win over Austrian champions Sturm Graz.
Mahdi Camara and Mathias Pereira Lage got the other goals, ensuring Salzburg conceded seven goals in their opening two games, after losing 3-0 at Sparta Prague in their opener.
Kaan Kairinen’s brilliant free kick was enough for Prague to draw 1-1 at Stuttgart in Tuesday’s other early game.
Stuttgart fans displayed a huge sign saying “Back in Europe” behind one of the goals. It was the team’s first Champions League match at home since a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in February 2010, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored for the visitors.
The Stuttgart fans didn’t have to wait long on Tuesday before Enzo Millot headed in the team’s first real chance in the seventh minute, but Kairinen equalised with a free kick in off the top of the right post in the 32nd minute.
Stuttgart, who lost their opening game 2-0 at defending champions Real Madrid, needed goalkeeper Alexander Nubel at his best.
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/iIchquO: Arteta hails ‘incredible’ Kai, Foden sparks into action in City rout, Celtic smashed by Dortmund
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