By Kayode John
Barcelona produced a brilliant performance to beat Bayern Munich 4-1 in Spain in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.
Raphinha scored a hat-trick and Robert Lewandowski was also on the score sheet for the hosts while Harry Kane struck for the visitors.
Raphinha struck in the first minute but Kane equalised in the 20th minute. The Brazilian would score two more goals in the 45th and 56th minutes respectively to give the Catalans a comfortable win.
Darwin Nunez’s first-half goal was enough for Liverpool to seal a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig in Germany.
The victory meant Liverpool have now won 11 of their 12 competitive matches under Arne Slot, the best-ever start for a manager in the club’s history.
Atletico Madrid have now made it back-to-back defeats in the competition following their shocking 3-1 home loss to Lille.
The Spaniards recorded a scandalous 4-0 loss to Benfica on matchday 2, but had a strong start on Wednesday as they led inside eight minutes through Julian Alvarez.
Edon Zhegrova equalised for the visitors one minute after the hour mark and two goals from Jonathan David ensured the points were secured for the Ligue 1 side.
Bayer Leverkusen, who were without Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface, battled to a 1-1 draw against Brest in France.
Florian Wirtz put the Germans ahead after 24 minutes but Pierre Lees-Melous scored five minutes before half-time to make sure the spoils were shared.
Erling Haaland maintained his phenomenal scoring rate in the competition with two more goals as Manchester City eased to a 5-0 win over Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium.
The 24-year-old netted his 44th goal in just 42 games in the competition as Phil Foden, John Stones and Matheus Nunes also struck for City.
With the win, the English champions broke rivals Manchester United’s record for the most consecutive games unbeaten in the Champions League.
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was in action for 69 minutes as Atalanta were forced to a 0-0 draw at home by Celtic, while Salzburg lost 2-0 at home to Dinamo Zagreb, with Sandro Kulenovic and Bruno Petkovic scoring for the visitors.
Marcus Thuram saved Marko Arnautovic’s blushes with a 93rd minute strike after the Austrian saw his penalty saved in Bern as the Inter Milan recorded a 1-0 win over Young Boys.
Feyenoord secured a surprising 3-1 victory over Benfica in Portugal on Wednesday.
Ayase Ueda put the Dutch side in the lead after 12 minutes and Antonio Milambo doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute. Muhammed Kareem Akturkoglu reduced the deficit in the 66th minute but Milambo completed his brace late in the clash to seal the win.
RESULTS
Atalanta 0-0 Celtic
Brest 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid 1-3 Lille
Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich
Benfica 1-3 Feyenoord
Manchester City 5-0 Sparta Prague
RB Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool
RB Salzburg 0-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys 0-1 Inter Milan
