Manchester City and Inter Milan continued their strong campaigns in the UEFA Champions League with victories on Wednesday, while Barcelona was held to a draw in a high-scoring affair.
Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium, maintaining their unbeaten run in the competition. Phil Foden shone with two goals, including two impressive strikes from outside the box, while Erling Haaland continued his prolific scoring record with his fifth Champions League goal of the season. Waldemar Anton scored a goal for Dortmund, but Rayan Cherki's late goal sealed the victory for City. With this win, Pep Guardiola's team sits fourth in the table with 10 points after four matches. Guardiola praised Foden's performance, stating that he is already back to his best form. Haaland has scored 27 goals in 17 matches for club and country this season, netting 14 times in his last nine games. He has scored in five consecutive Champions League games for three different clubs.
Inter Milan secured their fourth consecutive win in the Champions League, defeating Kairat Almaty 2-1 to maintain their perfect record. Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring for Inter, and Carlos Augusto scored the decisive goal to secure the victory. Ofri Arad had equalized for Kairat early in the second half. Inter now joins Bayern Munich and Arsenal as the only teams with four wins from four matches in the league phase. Inter defender Federico Dimarco emphasized the importance of winning the first four games and the need to focus on each subsequent match.
Barcelona, however, had a more difficult night, drawing 3-3 with Club Brugge in Belgium. Barcelona had to come from behind three times to salvage a point, with Lamine Yamal playing a key role in their comeback. Carlos Forbs scored twice for Club Brugge, while Ferran Torres and Yamal scored for Barcelona, along with an own goal by Christos Tzolis. Club Brugge thought they had scored a winner in stoppage time, but the referee called a foul against Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick acknowledged that a 3-3 draw was not a good result but praised his team's resilience in coming from behind.
In other Champions League matches, Newcastle United defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0, while Chelsea drew 2-2 with Qarabag. Benfica, under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, lost 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen, marking their fourth consecutive defeat in the league phase. Ajax Amsterdam also suffered their fourth consecutive loss, falling 3-0 to Galatasaray. Pafos secured their first-ever league-phase victory by defeating Villarreal 1-0 in Cyprus. Victor Osimhen scored a hat trick for Napoli, including two penalties, to reach six goals in the competition, surpassing Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, who each have five goals.
