City freak's outrageous move in five-goal rout; greatest start in ...

A 27th minute Darwin Nunez header took Liverpool to a controlled 1-0 win at RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday, continuing their excellent start under new coach Arne Slot.

Liverpool broke through some early Leipzig pressure just before the half-hour mark when Mo Salah hit a perfect header across his body.

Nunez jumped high to tap in the goal-bound ball, grabbing his first Champions League goal since February 2023.

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Despite a late Leipzig flurry, Liverpool again showed the control and resilience that has taken them to the top of the Premier League table just days out from Sunday’s clash at Arsenal.

Slot has won 11 of his first 12 games in charge in all competitions, the best start of any manager in Liverpool history, while Leipzig are now zero from three in Europe this season.

Both sides had impressed domestically this season on the back of strong defensive records, with Liverpool conceding three in eight Premier League games and Leipzig just two in seven.

Slot made three changes to the side which beat Chelsea 2-1 at home on Sunday, benching Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones for Kostas Tsimikas and Alexis Mac Allister, while Nunez replaced Jota.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose’s starting XI made his intentions clear, the coach going for the all-out attack of Lois Openda, Xavi Simons, Benjamin Sesko and Antonio Nusa.

Rose’s constellation worked early, with Leipzig pressing Liverpool hard and hitting them on the counter.

Sesko went close after 19 minutes, pouncing after Caoimhin Kelleher surged out of his box and failed to clear, but the big Slovenian’s long-range effort curled just wide of the post.

Openda scored from well outside the box on the 26-minute mark but the Belgian’s stunner was ruled out for off-side.

Liverpool made Leipzig pay immediately, Nunez tapping in a goal-bound Salah header, just his second strike in nine appearances this season.

Nunez went inches from doubling up shortly after but his point blank header was well saved by Peter Gulacsi.

With one eye on Sunday’s match at Arsenal, Liverpool tried to take the sting out of the game in the second-half, controlling the match and keeping Leipzig at bay.

Salah was upset to be subbed with half an hour remaining, but by then Slot clearly had Arsenal in mind.

The home side rallied late, Openda again having a goal struck off for a clear off-side, but Liverpool held on to make it three from three in the Champions League.

HAALAND’S ACROBATIC LIGHT UP CITY ROUT

Erling Haaland’s spectacular acrobatic effort lit up Manchester City’s 5-0 win over Sparta Prague to move into third place in the Champions League table.

The Norwegian scored twice, including a backheel at shoulder height, as City ran riot against the Czech champions.

Phil Foden, John Stones and Matheus Nunes were also on target for Pep Guardiola’s men, who remain unbeaten in all competitions this season.

Sparta had taken four points from their opening two Champions League games against Salzburg and Stuttgart, but City were a step up in class too far for the visitors.

Foden’s struggle for form and fitness has compounded City’s injury problems with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne sidelined.

But there were encouraging signs for Guardiola as, restored to the starting line-up, the England international drilled home the opening goal after just three minutes.

Haaland had nine efforts on goal in total but was frustrated in the first half as Sparta refused to let the floodgates open before the break.

Peter Vindahl produced a stunning save low to his right to parry a powerful downward header from Haaland on 10 minutes.

Vindahl also denied Foden, while Haaland had another towering header hacked off the line.

For all the home side’s dominance, Sparta would have levelled midway through the first half but for a brilliant save from Ederson to turn behind Veljko Birmancevic’s strike on the counter-attack from a City corner.

Haaland did finally deliver City’s second with an effort reminiscent of his strike against old club Borussia Dortmund two years ago that won Champions League goal of the season.

Savinho’s chipped cross was slightly behind the 24-year-old, who contorted his body to strike the ball martial arts style and fire it past Vindahl.

Stones nodded in a vital stoppage time winner against Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday and continued his hot streak in front of goal with a looping header from Nunes’ cross.

Haaland then completed a three-goal blitz in 11 minutes at the end of a scintillating City counter-attack.

Slick passes from Rico Lewis, Foden and Nunes teed up Haaland to slot home his 44th Champions League goal in just 42 appearances in the competition.

Guardiola could afford the luxury of replacing his star number nine, along with Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in the closing stages with City in the midst of a run of seven games in 21 days.

Nunes completed the rout from the penalty spot after he had been felled inside the area.

Victory takes City onto seven points from their opening three Champions League games, behind only Premier League rivals Liverpool and Aston Villa.

RAPHINHA HAT-TRICK HELPS BARCA THRASH BAYERN

Raphinha scored a stunning hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Bayern Munich 4-1 on Wednesday in a riveting Champions League clash.

The Catalans had lost their last six games against Bayern but outplayed the six-time winners at the Olympic stadium with Robert Lewandowski also on the scoresheet, while England star Harry Kane struck for the visitors.

Hansi Flick, who was in charge of the Bundesliga side in a humiliating 8-2 romp over Barca in 2020, led the Catalans to an emphatic triumph which indicated they may be capable of winning the trophy for the first time since 2015 after a decade of disappointment.

Defeat leaves Bayern with only one victory from their opening three group games and in the bottom half of the table, while Barcelona have two wins and are in the top third.

Hansi Flick brought Spanish midfielder Fermin Lopez in for his first start of the season after injury, while his Bayern counterpart Vincent Kompany opted for Serge Gnabry in place of Jamal Musiala, who was only fit enough for the bench.

Barcelona had not scored in their last four matches against Bayern but were ahead inside one minute, with Lopez playing Raphinha in behind the visitors’ high line.

The Brazilian winger, on his 100th appearance for the club since joining from Leeds, and proudly sporting the captain’s armband, stayed cool to dribble around Manuel Neuer and roll home.

Former Tottenham striker Kane had a similar chance to equalise at the other end but took a heavy touch and Inaki Pena raced out of his goal quickly to deny him.

The Englishman, who ended a four-game drought with a hat-trick against Stuttgart on Saturday, beat Pena with a header moments later but was ruled marginally off-side.

Bayern kept pouring forward and Kane found the net once more after 18 minutes, and this time it counted.

The striker finished acrobatically from Gnabry’s inviting cross with Barcelona’s defence all at sea, like Bayern playing high and inviting the Germans to break in behind.

- Relentless Raphinha -

Barcelona recovered their composure and began to threaten, with former Bayern striker Lewandowski firing wide and Lamine Yamal sliding in to tackle Neuer but seeing the ball roll beyond the post.

Joshua Kimmich was booked for taking out Lopez, who was charging into space in Bayern territory.

The Barcelona midfielder, a ball of energy, created his team’s second for Lewandowski. Lopez left Kim Min-jae for dead with a clever nudge, which Bayern complained about to no avail, before knocking the ball across for Lewandowski to turn home.

The veteran Polish striker, 36, has been the chief beneficiary of Flick’s arrival after struggling last season and now has 15 goals in 13 appearances.

The unstoppable Raphinha rattled home a superb third before the interval, driving into the area after Marc Casado spread the play out to the left flank and arcing a shot through Dayot Upamecano’s legs and beyond the reach of Neuer at full stretch.

Raphinha completed his hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half, controlling Yamal’s ambitious pass brilliantly on his chest while on the sprint, before planting a rasping effort into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.

Kompany reacted with a quadruple substitution, bringing on four household names in Musiala, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.

At 4-1 up Barcelona’s fans began to cheer their team’s passes as Bayern chased the ball, the style of the victory continuing the team’s potential redemption arc after nearly 10 years of hurt in the competition.

Having not reached the Champions League semi-final since 2019, belief is starting to grow in Catalonia that Flick could help restore their position among Europe’s elite.

Another test of that theory soon follows -- Barcelona’s next match is a visit to face reigning Spanish and European champions Real Madrid in a tantalising La Liga Clasico on Saturday.

Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior netted a treble for Madrid on Tuesday against Dortmund but his compatriot Raphinha matched him in style against Bayern as Barca sent a message of their own.