Real Madrid see off improved Juventus in UCL win, while Liverpool come back in Frankfurt and Victor Osimhen stars again.
Jude Bellingham scored his first goal since June as Real Madrid saw off a spirited performance by Juventus to win 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and maintain their 100 percent record in this season’s Champions League.
The goal on Wednesday was created by Vinicius Jr, who in the 58th minute took on three Juventus players and made space to shoot. His attempt rebounded off the post for Bellingham to slot home his first goal of the season since returning from shoulder surgery.
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Juve are winless since September 13 and have gone seven consecutive matches without a victory in all competitions. They have secured just two points from three Champions League games, while Madrid have nine points.
The Italians did, however, draw a number of fine saves from Real keeper Thibaut Courtois as they defied the record Champions League winners for nearly an hour.
The Belgium international stopper remained pivotal even in the dying moments as Juve applied the pressure in search of an equaliser, with Filip Kostic’s long-range strike needing to be pummelled away.
Liverpool come from a goal down in Frankfurt
Liverpool emphatically rebounded from a miserable run as it won 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
There were also comfortable wins for Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Liverpool travelled to Germany on a four-game losing streak that included Sunday’s home defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League. Among its recent setbacks was also a loss at Galatasaray in its second league-phase match.
Rasmus Kristensen gave the home side the lead in the 26th minute, but Liverpool levelled nine minutes later through former Frankfurt player Hugo Ekitike, who outsprinted three of his former teammates before firing a low effort under Michael Zetterer.
Ekitike didn’t celebrate but raised his hands in an apologetic gesture.
Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate headed in corners within five minutes of each other to give Liverpool a comfortable halftime lead.
Florian Wirtz provided his first Champions League assist in the 66th, setting up Cody Gakpo for a tap-in, and he did it again four minutes later for a low drive from Dominik Szoboszlai from 30 meters out.
Chelsea beat Ajax 5-1, while Bayern topped Club Brugge 4-0.
Nigeria’s Osimhen shines again for Galatasaray
Victor Osimhen continued his impressive scoring record in Europe to help Galatasaray to a 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt.
Osimhen netted two first-half goals to extend his scoring streak in continental competition to seven outings – with nine goals in that period – stretching back to Galatasaray’s Europa League campaign last term.
The Nigerian forward came close to a hat-trick on several occasions, notably in the 60th minute when his attempt was parried by Nikita Haikin, but Yunus Akgun tucked away the rebound for Galatasaray’s third.
Substitute Andreas Helmersen grabbed a consolation for Bodø/Glimt shortly after coming off the bench.
Substitute Roberto Navarro had an immediate – and stunning – impact as he helped Athletic Bilbao to its first points in this season’s Champions League, with a 3-1 comeback victory over Qarabag.
Navarro was brought on in the 65th minute, with the score 1-1, and gave the hosts the lead five minutes later with a delightful curled finish into the far corner.
Qarabag, which was surprisingly perfect going into the encounter, had taken the lead after just 49 seconds through Leandro Andrade.
But Gorka Guruzeta levelled shortly before halftime and also gave his team a two-goal cushion with full-time looming.
