Manchester City and Real Madrid marched on with a third straight win in the Champions League, and former Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui was fired by struggling Sevilla minutes after a 4-1 loss at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Paris Saint-Germain were held for the first time despite Lionel Messi’s fine opening goal in a 1-1 draw at Benfica.
Erling Haaland was needed on the field for only the first half yet still scored twice in what has become a routine rout for Man City this season, 5-0 at home to Copenhagen.
It is now five goals in three Champions League games and 19 in 12 club games overall for the relentless Norwegian forward.
Madrid are making less spectacular progress in defence of their title yet had 35 attempts on goal in holding off Shakhtar Donetsk for a 2-1 win.
First-half goals from Madrid’s young Brazilian forwards, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, opened a five-point lead in Group F over Shakhtar before their return game in Poland next week. “The ball didn’t want to go in. It was a match to win 7-1, but sometimes it’s like that,” Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said.
Lopetegui’s exit from Sevilla, where he won the Europa League title in 2020, seemed likely after only one win in seven La Liga games left the team 17th in the table.
It was confirmed after the loss to a rampant Dortmund, who followed a four-goal loss to Man City in the Spanish club’s previous home game in Group G. Fans chanted Lopetegui’s name as he left the field.
PSG went to Benfica tied on six points and left tied on seven after a lively, well-matched game in Lisbon.
Messi’s 127th career goal in the Champions League was a curling shot after linking passes with fellow star forwards Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.
Also in Group H, Juventus closed the gap on the leaders with its first points in a 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa. France midfielder Adrien Rabiot scored in each half.
Chelsea got their first win in the competition for new coach Graham Potter, cruising past AC Milan 3-0, though Salzburg now leads Group E.
Noah Okafor kept up his goal-a-game rate in the Champions League to lift Salzburg to a 1-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Christopher Nkunku, the France forward who is a widely speculated transfer target of Chelsea, opened the scoring in Leipzig’s 3-1 win over Celtic in the group led by Madrid.
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A sweeping right-shot from near the penalty spot. A goal poacher’s pounce on a loose ball after a goalkeeper’s save. But no hat-trick this time for Man City’s prolific forward.
Haaland was taken off at half-time as coach Pep Guardiola let other young players shine and Julian Alvarez, who joined in the offseason from River Plate, got City’s fifth goal in the 76th.
The English champions are now unbeaten in 21 home games across four years in the elite European competition. Lyon was the last visiting team to win.
After the match Guardiola had to quell speculation that the Norway striker could already be planning a move out of the club.
Guardiola dismissed reports coming out of Spain that the striker has a release clause in his contract that would allow him to join Real Madrid in 2024.
“It’s not true,” Guardiola said.
“He doesn’t have a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It’s not true is all I can say. I have the feeling he is incredibly happy here.”
Madrid were among a host of Europe’s leading clubs tracking Haaland last season —- but it was City who won the race for his signature in a $63 million deal from Borussia Dortmund.
Still, a future move to the Bernabeu is considered a possibility, with a release clause widely speculated about since his move to the Etihad.
“In the end, what’s going to happen in the future, who knows it?” added Guardiola.
“What’s important is he is happy, he is settled perfectly, he is incredibly beloved by everyone and that’s the most important thing.”
Guardiola resisted the temptation to rest the Norway international in a game City was expected to win easily. He was only denied a second successive hat trick by the acrobatics of Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara – and his manager’s decision to withdraw him at the interval. “It’s getting a little silly now,” tweeted former England striker Gary Lineker. “Making goal scoring appear absurdly easy.”
Three assists from Ángel Di María ensured Juventus finally earned their first points after losses at PSG and at home to Benfica. Rabiot scored in each half against Maccabi Haifa, either side of Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic’s 50th-minute goal. “I try to do my job, it’s what makes me happy,” Di María said.