Champions League round-up: PSG lose Kvaratskhelia; Foden hat-trick and Liverpool teen shines
Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday but will be without Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for around six months after the injury. Manchester City routed AEK Athens 5-1 while Phil Foden scored a hat-trick, and Liverpool scraped past Villarreal 4-3 with teenager Rio Ngumoha supplying two assists.
This autumn has generated Ballon d’Or lobbying for Kvaratskhelia despite his absence from the World Cup, and the Georgian posted “Why me?” on Instagram after his injury. PSG’s policy of resting players in Ligue 1 to prioritise the Champions League did not prevent the setback, while Barcelona rested Rodri on Tuesday until he came off the bench in the 60th minute; Barcelona face Real Madrid this weekend and did not spare Lamine Yamal, whose goal in Paris took him to 10 goals and 10 assists from 10 matches.
Arsenal drew 2-2 at Bayern Munich where Bukayo Saka suffered a first-half quad injury and left the game, Declan Rice scored a late equaliser and Harry Kane produced a goal and an assist; “The prediction markets suggest so” with regard to Kane’s Ballon d’Or prospects. Manchester City’s victory over AEK Athens featured Allan among the new signings who impressed and an official attendance of 40,402, a crowd that was widely judged to look smaller in the stadium.
Criticism of empty seats at Manchester City’s Etihad was fuelled by high ticket prices and a congested schedule that saw five home matches in 17 days, factors cited as mitigation for those who stayed away even as the club reports record revenues. Anfield was also not full for Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Villarreal, a match in which the hosts were disorganised for the opening 30 minutes before recovering.
Scott McTominay scored twice for Napoli in their 4-3 victory over Bodø/Glimt, his first goals since undergoing a procedure for a benign heart arrhythmia; “I still need to find my best form, but I am not far away,” said McTominay. Serie A clubs enjoyed a clean sweep of wins with Roma defeating Slovan Bratislava 4-0 and Como beating Manchester United 4-1, while Inter recorded a 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eighteen-year-old Rio Ngumoha, making his fifth start of the season, played off the right for Liverpool and provided two left-footed assists that drove the comeback; “Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo [Salah] last year was obviously massive,” Virgil van Dijk said of the teenager. Como’s progress to the Champions League represents a rapid rise from Serie D in 2008 and has drawn investors and attention, including Thierry Henry among the shareholders and Cesc Fàbregas as coach.
Como’s ownership and backing were detailed alongside transfer notes: the club’s prime financiers are the Hartono brothers, Jamestown Analytics have been consulting, and Real Madrid retain a buy-back option for Nico Paz, who was bought by Como in 2024 and scored twice against Manchester United. Manchester United’s matchday troubles spilled into a public rows between staff and players, with Bruno Fernandes saying, “It’s a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams they get confidence,” and Michael Carrick responding: “If you don’t run and you don’t run forward and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win.” Jamie Carragher added on CBS: “They all think he’s working hard. He’s not. He’s killing the rest of the team doing it.” The Amazon All or Nothing documentary on United’s season is currently in production.
There is a fortnight without Champions League matches before the next round of fixtures, with Manchester United scheduled to host Roma on 3 November. Aston Villa, who have three wins from three in the competition, travel to Barcelona, Real Madrid go to AEK, and Stamford Bridge will host Sporting Lisbon after Shakhtar’s trip to Inter and Lask’s first-ever group-stage win this week.