Barcelona, Atletico, and Arsenal Win in 'Champions'

Deficient in numbers, German giants Bayern Munich fell into a draw trap against Norwegian hosts Vålerenga in a 3-3 draw yesterday in the second round of the unified group stage of the UEFA Champions League, while Inter Milan suffered defeat, and Spanish sides Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, along with English club Arsenal, secured victories.

The Bavarian giants appeared to be on course for a remarkable comeback after falling behind to goals from Australian striker Jamie Stenness (2nd minute) and Peter Christiansen (38th), but they showed their teeth in the second half. The German champions responded with a hat-trick from English striker Harry Kane (54th minute penalty, 60th) and Colombian forward Luis Diaz (71st), before French midfielder Michael Olise’s efforts were nullified by his sending-off in the 73rd minute.

Capitalizing on their numerical advantage, the home side equalized with a late winner from substitute Herman Haugen (90th minute). Despite the disappointing result for Bayern, manager Vincent Kompany’s side continued their unbeaten run across all competitions, extending it to 14 matches. They moved up to four points, while Vålerenga remained on one point.

At the San Siro, after losing their opening match 1-2 to Real Madrid in Spain, Inter Milan suffered a shocking 3-4 defeat to Belgian visitors Club Brugge, whose hero was German-Italian Milan fan Nicolò Tresoldi, who scored a hat-trick. Inter found themselves trailing in the 30th minute after a penalty awarded to Portuguese winger Carlos Forbs, who had been fouled by Turkish midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu after a brilliant run from his own half. Tresoldi converted the spot-kick successfully (30th minute).

Argentina’s Lautaro Martínez equalized after a heel pass from Federico Dimarco (44th minute). However, following a serious error by Spanish goalkeeper Josip Martinović, who rushed out to cut off Forbs, Brugge regained the lead in the second half through Tresoldi (63rd minute). The Belgian side added a third when Tresoldi finished a shot from the outstanding Forbs (74th minute).

After Martínez reduced the deficit with his second goal of the match, following a cross from Croatian midfielder Petar Suić (81st minute), Romeo Vermaelen scored the fourth for the visitors (87th minute). Ivorian substitute Ange-Yovan Boni pulled one back for Inter in stoppage time (90+3rd minute).

Barcelona thrashed Turkish hosts Galatasaray 4-1 in Istanbul. The Catalan side appeared headed for a surprise defeat after falling behind to a goal from Russian striker Alexei Baturkin (28th minute) and then conceding a second through Paris Yılmaz, which was later disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for offside (34th minute). However, the team came back before halftime with a goal from Portuguese winger João Cancelo (43rd minute), before completing their turnaround in three minutes with goals from Fermín López (50th minute) and English forward Anthony Gordon (53rd minute). German substitute Karim Adeyemi sealed the victory (65th minute).

This is Barcelona’s second win ahead of two difficult matches against French hosts Paris Saint-Germain and away rivals Real Madrid, following their league encounter with Real Betis. Meanwhile, Galatasaray suffered another blow, recording their third loss in their last five matches across all competitions. This marks the second time the Istanbul giant has suffered a four-goal defeat since the start of the season, following a 0-4 loss to Trabzonspor in the league.

Atletico Madrid added to the woes of English visitors Manchester United by defeating them 2-0. At the Metropolitano Stadium, which will host the Champions League final in June, United entered the match without a win in their last four games across all competitions. United started poorly, with their goal net shaken just 47 seconds into the game. Alex Baena penetrated the penalty area and returned the ball to Pablo Barrios, who fired it into the net.

The score remained unchanged until the 79th minute, when Atlético benefited from their numerical advantage following the red card shown to French player Lenny Yoro five minutes earlier, adding a second goal through Nigerian substitute Idowu Lokman, who finished a David shot. Earlier, opening-day winners Napoli had defeated Inter 1-0 on Italian soil, while Arsenal secured their second victory with a 3-0 clean-sheet win against French visitors Lille in the second half. Arsenal broke the deadlock in the second half when Dutch forward Jurriën Timber put them ahead in the 64th minute. They quickly doubled their lead in the 67th minute after an error by Algerian midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, with Iñaki Williams scoring. Bukayo Saka, who had come on alongside Martin Ødegaard and German striker Kai Havertz just two minutes before Williams’ goal, sealed the three points with a collective move involving all three substitutes in the 71st minute. Meanwhile, Spanish side Villarreal overturned their deficit to defeat visiting Napoli 3-1.