Paris Saint-Germain launched the defence of their UEFA Champions League crown in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 at the Parc des Princes as Ferran Torres announced himself on the European stage with a hat-trick.
The French champions made their intentions clear from the opening exchanges, dominating possession and creating chances against the Slovakian champions. Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring after 17 minutes, reacting quickest after Nuno Mendes’ effort struck the post.
Dembélé doubled PSG’s advantage six minutes later before Torres joined the party in the 31st minute, converting a pass from the Ballon d’Or winner to give Luis Enrique’s side a 3-0 lead at half-time.
Torres continued his outstanding UCL debut for Les Parisian by scoring twice shortly after the interval. His first came in the 47th minute before he completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute, making it a memorable first Champions League appearance for his new club.
Slovan pulled one back through Suleiman Camara two minutes later, but PSG restored their five-goal advantage when Fabian Ruiz struck in the 87th minute to complete the rout. The result gives the reigning champions a commanding start to their league-phase campaign.
The victory also underlined PSG’s remarkable ambitions in Europe. The Parisian club are seeking a third successive Champions League title, a feat that would place them alongside the competition’s most dominant dynasties, Real Madrid.
Arsenal edge Napoli as Liverpool complete comeback
Arsenal also opened their campaign with three points after defeating Napoli 1-0 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Martin Ødegaard settled a closely contested encounter in the 75th minute, finishing a move created by Christos Tzolis.
The Arsenal captain’s strike rewarded the visitors for a dominant second-half performance and gave Mikel Arteta’s side an important away victory.
Liverpool, meanwhile, recovered from an early setback to beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 at Anfield.
Marcos Llorente put Atlético ahead in the 17th minute, but Liverpool responded before half-time when Dominik Szoboszlai levelled the contest.
Alexis Mac Allister then completed the turnaround five minutes into the second half with a powerful strike from outside the box.
The result handed new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola a winning start to his first Champions League campaign as a manager.
The Reds controlled much of the second half and held on for a valuable three points despite Atlético’s attempts to force an equaliser.
Barcelona and Stuttgart also make winning starts
Barcelona produced another statement performance at the Camp Nou, defeating Feyenoord 5-1. It was their fourth time netting five times in a game in 5 matches this season.
Raphinha led the rout with two goals, while Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and Gabriel Jesus also found the net. Yamal was particularly influential, scoring from a free-kick and contributing two assists as Barcelona’s attacking quality proved too much for the Dutch visitors.
Feyenoord’s consolation came through Sem Steijn late in the game.
In Germany, Ermedin Demirović scored three times in 12 minutes to inspire Stuttgart to a 3-1 victory over Viking Stavanger. The Bosnian striker scored in the 20th, 26th and 32nd minutes after Zlatko Tripić had briefly levelled for the Norwegian side.
Sporting CP also came from behind to defeat Galatasaray 3-1 in Lisbon. Gonçalo Inácio’s own goal gave the visitors an early lead, but Geny Catamo, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo Zalazar completed the turnaround for the Portuguese side.
The results leave several of Europe’s leading clubs with perfect starts as the expanded league phase continues on Thursday.
Manchester United will host Sabah, while Bayern Munich welcome Bodø/Glimt among the tomorrow’s fixtures.
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