Champions League: PSG strike late to down Barca; Monaco hold Manchester City

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain rallied from a goal down to beat Barcelona 2-1 with a late strike in the Champions League match at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys stadium, in Barcelona, on Wednesday night.

Gonçalo Ramos scored the last-gasp winner as the defending champions maintained their perfect start to this season’s campaign, having trounced Atalanta 4-0 in their opening match.

They fell behind when Ferran Torres turned in Marcus Rashford’s 19th-minute cross, but Senny Mayulu got them back on level terms before half-time.

Achraf Hakimi then provided a perfect cross for Ramos to fire the ball home from close in the 90th minute and seal full points from the outing.

In Wednesday’s other matches, a late penalty earned Monaco a 2-2 draw with Manchester City, Arsenal beat Olympiacos 2-0, Union Saint-Gilloise lost 0-4 to Newcastle United, Qarabag beat Copenhagen  2-0, Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven drew 1-1, Borussia Dortmund trounced Athletic Club 4-1, Napoli beat Sporting CP 2-1, Villarreal and Juventus drew 2-2.

Player of the match Erling Haaland marked his 50th Champions League appearance with two goals but Eric Dier’s 90th-minute penalty ensured an absorbing encounter ended all square.

Haaland put Manchester City in front in the 15th minute, his 51st goal in the competition. However, the lead was short-lived as Jordan Teze’s stunning strike pegged back the visitors.

Haaland scored again before the break with a leaping header to put City back in front.

But City, who twice hit the bar through Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders, were denied victory when, following a VAR review, Monaco were awarded a penalty after Nico Gonzalez’s high foot hit Dier’s head. The England international sent goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way to earn his a draw.

Gabriel Martinelli scored in consecutive Champions League fixtures for the first time to help Arsenal overcome stubborn Olympiacos at the Emirates stadium.

The Brazilian forward tapped in after a Viktor Gyokeres shot ricocheted off the post, though the home side were indebted to goalkeeper David Raya for denying Daniel Podence with a brilliant save.

Leandro Trossard was denied by Konstantinos Tzolakis as the hosts pushed for a second before Bukayo Saka eventually squeezed in a clincher in stoppage time.

Former Bianconeri defender Renato Veiga’s powerful late header claimed a share of the spoils for Villarreal.

The Yellow Submarine, who led through Georges Mikautadze’s neat 18th-minute finish, fell behind in the space of seven second-half minutes via Federico Gatti’s overhead kick and a fine individual effort from substitute Francisco Conceição. Jonathan David also hit the bar for Juve.

With Igor Tudor’s men looking set to seal maximum points, Veiga rose to meet Ilias Akhomach’s 90th-minute corner to nod emphatically into the net.

Napoli striker Rasmus Hojlund netted twice, either side of a Luis Suarez penalty, to secure a 2-1 home win over Sporting on Wednesday and kick-start the host’s UEFA Champions League 2025-26 campaign with its first points of the competition.

Villarreal snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against Juventus, with Renato Veiga’s last-minute header denying the Italian side its first win.

Georges Mikautadze put Villarreal ahead in the 18th minute, finishing coolly into the far corner after Nicolas Pepe put him through inside the area. The host continued to threaten with Alfonso Pedraza and Tajon Buchanan, but Juventus keeper Mattia Perin denied both before the break.

Juventus rallied in the second half, equalising through Federico Gatti’s acrobatic overhead kick in the 49th minute, and Francisco Conceicao gave it the lead seven minutes later, pouncing on a defensive error to slot home.

But Villarreal refused to give in, and Veiga rose highest to head in a corner from close range in the 90th minute, ensuring the host secured its first point of the campaign. Agencies

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