Second-half goals from Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman and Nicolo Zaniolo earned Atalanta a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday and the Italian side are yet to concede a goal in this season’s competition.
The opener came in the 51st minute when Lookman tapped in a cross from Charles De Ketelaere and, with the home side struggling to find a way through, Zaniolo struck the decisive second two minutes from time.
It was Lookman’s second goal in the Champions League this season and his eighth in 13 appearances across all competitions, along with five assists.
The defeat ended Stuttgart’s impressive home record of not losing a game in any competition for more than a year, while Atalanta continued their excellent form, unbeaten in their last eight matches.
Atalanta moved up to ninth in the standings on eight points, with Stuttgart dropping out of the playoff zone as they slipped to 27th with four points.
Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu maintained his incredible penalty record as his spot-kick secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for the Italians over Arsenal at San Siro.
Neither side had conceded a goal in their opening three games in the competition but Arsenal’s defence was finally breached in unfortunate fashion on the stroke of half-time after a harsh handball decision against Mikel Merino.
The lethal Calhanoglu duly found the back of the net to take his record to 19 out of 19 penalties scored in all competitions since joining Inter.
Arsenal laid siege to the Inter goal in the second half with Kai Havertz denied by home keeper Yann Sommer and having another effort deflected just wide, but Inter defended superbly to move to 10 points from four games.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal had 14 goal attempts in the second half but lacked creativity and are now outside the top eight automatic qualifiers for the knockout phase with seven points.
Striker Robert Lewandowski scored a goal in each half to help Barcelona secure a comprehensive 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade.
It was another commanding victory for LaLiga leaders Barcelona who are in an imperious vein of form, scoring 24 goals in six successive wins in all competitions, including thrashings of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Barca climbed to sixth place in the 36-team Champions League table with nine points, with. Red Star languishing in 35th spot with no points from four games.
Paris St Germain’s disappointing Champions League campaign continued on Wednesday as they slumped to a last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by Atletico Madrid that left the Ligue 1 leaders in the elimination zone.
Warren Zaire Emery’s opener was quickly cancelled out by the visitors’ Nahuel Molina in the first half of a largely disappointing match which ended with Angel Correa stabbing in the winner three minutes into added time.
On four points from as many games, PSG are 25th in the 36-team league, six points behind fellow Ligue 1 teams Monaco and Stade Brestois, while Atleti moved out of the red zone with six points.
Meanwhile, Brest secured a 2-1 victory at Sparta Prague, with a first-half goal from Edimilson Fernandes and a late own goal from Sparta in the second half sealing the win for the French side.
Fernandes fired Brest ahead in the 37th minute after a corner was headed to him, sending a shot as he slipped on the rain-soaked grass.
Ten minutes before full-time, Brest effectively ended the match with an own goal from Sparta’s Kaan Kairinen, who got the final touch in a scramble on the goal line before Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji reduced the deficit deep into stoppage time.
Brest are now in a good position to go through to the next round, well placed in the top section of the table while Sparta are just outside the play-off area with four points.
Jamal Musiala’s excellent header ended Benfica’s resistance and ensured Bayern Munich returned to winning ways after two straight defeats.
Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin made a series of fine saves to deny England captain Harry Kane in a dominant, if frustrating, first-half showing from Bayern.
The introduction of Leroy Sané helped the home side break down Benfica and when his cross found Kane, the striker headed back across goal for Musiala to power in.
In the early evening fixtures, Aston Villa conceded their first goal in the competition and suffered their first defeat, losing 1-0 at Club Brugge, as Hans Vanaken scored from the penalty spot, while Shakhtar Donetsk beat Young Boys 2-1.
RESULTS
Club Brugge 1-0 Aston Villa
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Young Boys
Sparta Prague 1-2 Brest
Bayern München 1-0 Benfica
Inter Milan 1-0 Arsenal
Feyenoord 1-3 Salzburg
Red Star 2-5 Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Stuttgart 0-2 Atalanta
