Champions League: Liverpool extend winning run; Real Madrid back on track

MOHAMED SALAH'S penalty maintained Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Real Madrid returned to winning ways with a victory over Serie A leaders Atalanta.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain secured a crucial win against Salzburg, and Bayer Leverkusen edged past Inter Milan to move into second place in their group standings. Aston Villa, participating in the competition for the first time in 41 years, continued their impressive form with a 3-2 win over Leipzig, leaving them in third place.

Under the competition’s revamped format, the top eight teams advance directly to the last 16, while teams finishing ninth to 24th will enter a play-off round.

In Spain, Salah scored a decisive penalty in the 63rd minute to help Liverpool overcome Girona, debutants in the tournament. The result gave the Premier League leaders their sixth consecutive win in the group stage. Despite the win, Liverpool coach Arne Slot expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s performance.

“If you ask me about all six games, I’m really pleased with all the results... (but) I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” Slot told reporters. “(We had) hardly any control at all over the game, maybe the second half was a bit better but then I’m trying to be positive.”

Salah’s goal was his 50th in the Champions League, placing him joint 10th on the competition’s all-time scoring list alongside Filippo Inzaghi. The Egyptian winger, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has scored 16 goals across all competitions this season, proving crucial to Liverpool’s success.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, recovered from their 2-0 loss to Liverpool in their previous match. Kylian Mbappe gave the Spanish side an early lead against Atalanta, but Charles de Ketelaere equalised with a penalty in first-half stoppage time. Goals from Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham secured a 3-2 victory, lifting Real to 18th place on nine points.

PSG, struggling in 25th place before the match, claimed a much-needed 3-0 win over Salzburg. The victory pushed the French champions into 24th position, the final spot for the play-offs.

In other results, Bayern Munich defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1, and Bayer Leverkusen became the first team to score against Inter Milan this season with a 1-0 win. French side Brest continued their strong debut campaign in European football with a 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven, moving them into fifth place.

Wednesday’s matches include Manchester City’s trip to Juventus and Barcelona’s visit to Borussia Dortmund.

(With inputs from AFP)