Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In a rematch of last-season’s final, Dortmund lit up the game with a two-goal blitz around the half-hour mark from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens to silence the Bernabeu crowd.
However, the champions were livelier after the break and broke Dortmund’s resistance with Antonio Ruediger’s header on the hour before Vinicius equalised with a close-range strike.
Lucas Vazquez put Real ahead in the 83rd with an unstoppable strike after a counter-attack and Vinicius, with two pieces of individual Brazilian brilliance, wrapped up the win to leave his side level with Dortmund on six points from three games.
“The secret to the comeback was believing in ourselves. We know that at home, with our fans, anything can happen,” Vinicius, who is in contention to win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world on Monday, told Movistar Plus.
“When we got to the dressing room, we were all very quiet, we only listened to the coach (Carlo Ancelotti)... and only one thing was said: ‘If we score the first goal, we’re going to come back again’. And we did.
“Thanks to the fans and to the team, who left everything on the pitch. But we have to improve and play like that from the start, otherwise the coach won’t be able to take it anymore.”
It was the Brazilian’s third hat-trick for Real in all competitions and his first in the Champions League.
Lacklustre PSG
Paris St Germain’s weaknesses on the biggest stage were once again exposed when they were held 1-1 at home by PSV Eindhoven.
The Ligue 1 leaders salvaged a point when Achraf Hakimi’s second-half strike cancelled out Noa Lang’s opener, leaving Luis Enrique’s side on four points after three games.
Dutch league leaders PSV, who made the most of PSG’s mediocre midfield, are still winless with two points.
At the Parc des Princes, Bradley Barcola had the first clear chance when his low crossed shot shaved the post in the 11th minute before Lee Kang-in forced Walter Benitez to stretch to tip away a sudden shot from just outside the box.
Ousmane Dembele came even closer with a powerful volley that struck the bar in the 22nd.
PSV, however, were far more clinical.
In the 34th minute, Ismael Saibari stole the ball from Dembele and found Lang, who caught Gianluigi Donnarumma off guard as he brushed a 20-metre low shot past the Italian keeper.
PSG levelled 10 minutes into the second half with a shot that went between Benitez’s legs.
Scrappy Arsenal
Arsenal needed an own goal to seal a scrappy 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk to make it two wins out of three and soften the blow of their first domestic league defeat of the season at the weekend.
The hosts missed a penalty in the second half and squandered a number of decent chances, but the reality was they never found top gear and had to withstand some late pressure from their Ukrainian opponents.
Victory keeps Arsenal in the top eight of the new 36-team league phase with their next match away at Inter Milan. Shakhtar will seek to bounce back in their next match at home to Young Boys.
On a roll
Three straight wins, no goals conceded and top of the league on maximum points.
Aston Villa’s first-ever appearance in the Champions League couldn’t be going any better.
Villa’s 2-0 home win over Bologna maintained the 100 per cent start to the English team’s first campaign in Europe’s top club competition since 1983 — when it was called the European Cup, which Villa won in 1982.
“What we are building here is amazing,” said Villa captain John McGinn, one of the scorers against Bologna at a rocking Villa Park.
Villa opened with a 3-0 win at Swiss outsiders Young Boys and then beat German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 in their first home game of the competition.
Halfway through the third round of league games, Villa are in first place and no other team has nine points.
Key this season has been the form of Jhon Duran, the 20-year-old Colombia international who is enjoying his breakthrough year at Villa.
Duran was handed a rare start against Bologna ahead of first-choice striker Ollie Watkins and was about to be replaced by his fellow centre forward when he hooked home a volley in the 64th minute.
