Another round-up of Champions League action on a night that saw Paris St Germain become the joint-favourites to win the title after another faultless display in Belgium.
Benfica 0 v 1 Man Utd
Benfica’s teenage sweeper keeper Mile Svilar was in tears at the end of their Champions League tie with Man Utd after being culpable for Marcus Rashford’s winner.
It was a dreary and drab game at the Estádio da Luz with Man Utd turning up to do a professional job on their Portuguese opponents. Benfica didn’t manage a single shot on target, and United weren’t much better.
United’s winner came in the 64th minute when Svilar misjudged a long-range free-kick from Rashford before carrying the ball over his goal line.
The victory means United has now won all three games and remain unbeaten in all competitions, keeping nine clean sheets in the 13 games they have played.
FC Basel moved into second place in the group after a fine away win in Moscow beating CSKA by two goals to nil.
Group A
1. Man Utd – 9pts
2. FC Basel – 6
3. CSKA – 3
4. Benfica – 0
Anderlecht 0 v 4 Paris St Germain
Most bookmakers have installed Paris St Germain as the 9/2 joint-favourites to win the Champions League after their 4-0 win over Anderlecht last night.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe, Edison Cavani, Neymar and Angel Di Maria ensured the French side to
pped Group B with maximum points earned from the first three games, 12 goals scored, and none conceded.
Bayern Munich is the favourite to go through to the knockout stages as the group runner-up after they breezed past Celtic by 3-0. First-half goals from Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich and a second-half strike from Mats Hummels see the Germans tucked in nicely with only the defeat against PSG blotting their copybook.
Group B
1. PSG – 9
2. Bayern Munich – 6
3. Celtic – 3
4. Anderlecht – 0
Chelsea 3 v 3 Roma
Chelsea and Roma took a confident stride towards the knockout stages after the three-time finalists Atletico Madrid stumbled their way through a goalless draw with the Azerbaijan Premier League champions Qarabag at the Baku National Stadium.
The point leaves Atletico three points behind Roma, and five points behind Chelsea after the two top teams in the group played out a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea was two-nil up and cruising after David Luiz and Eden Hazard had scored for the visitors, but Roma came from behind to grab a 3-2 lead after a strike from former Man City star Aleksandr Kolarov and a brace from his old Blues team-mate Edin Dzeko. With Chelsea contemplating their third successive defeat, Hazard came up with an equaliser in the 75th minute to give both sides a point.
Group C
1. Chelsea – 7
2. Roma – 5
3. Atletico Madrid – 2
4. Qarabag – 1
Barcelona 3 v 1 Olympiacos
Barcelona became the fifth side to win all three of their opening Champions League game with a victory over Olympiacos at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona took the lead in the 11th minute courtesy of a Dimitris Nikolaou own goal, and Olympiacos were handed a lifeline after Gerard Pique was sent off just before half-time for his second bookable offence.
The Greek side was unable to make the most of their man advantage, and two quick goals from Lionel Messi, his 100th in the Champions League, and Lucas Digne ensured the ten men would see the game through. Nikolau scored a consolation goal at the right end of the pitch with time running out.
The 2015 & 2017 runners-up, Juventus, remain Barcelona’s primary threat for group dominance. The Italian champions beat Sporting by two goals to one thanks to a late goal from Mario Mandzukic.
Group D
1. Barcelona – 9
2. Juventus – 6
3. Sporting – 3
4. Olympiacos – 0
Results in Full
Qarabag 0 v 0 Atletico Madrid
Anderlecht 0 v 4 Paris St Germain
Juventus 2 v 1 Sporting
Benfica 0 v 1 Man Utd
Barcelona 3 v 1 Olympiacos
Chelsea 3 v 3 Roma
Bayern 3 v 0 Celtic
CSKA Moscow 0 v 2 FC Basel
Champions League Winner Odds (Courtesy of Oddsshark)
Real Madrid 9/2
Paris St Germain 9/2
Man City 6/1
Barcelona 6/1
Bayern Munich 7/1
Man Utd 11/1
