Haaland Gives Man City Late Winner; Chelsea Held, Messi, Neymar Score

LONDON: Erling Haaland grabbed an 84th-minute winner against his former club Borussia Dortmund as Manchester City came from behind with two late goals to seal a 2-1 win in Champions League Group G on Wednesday.

The Norwegian has now scored 13 goals in eight games since making his move from the Bundesliga club and his latest was a brilliant finish as he leapt to guide home a wonderful cross with the outside of his boot by Joao Cancelo.

There was something inevitable about the 22-year-old, who scored 86 goals in 89 appearances for Dortmund, deciding the outcome but it was a surprise how much City had struggled for almost an hour.

Pep Guardiola opted to rotate his squad a little and his players struggled to find their usual tempo and fluency in a dull opening 45 minutes.

The German defence had coped with City's pedestrian build-up play with neither Jack Grealish or Riyad Mahrez getting much joy on the wings.

City, who won their opening group game against Sevilla 4-0, top the standings on six points, three ahead of the Germans.

Reus was more accurate, though, four minutes later when a corner reached him at the back of the penalty area and he whipped a ball back into the box for England international Jude Bellingham to head past Ederson.

Guardiola had been preparing a triple change when the goal was scored and he soon introduced Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.

The trio provided the desired impact -- adding the missing pace and inventiveness to City's forward play but when they drew level in the 80th minute it was thanks to a defender.

Kevin De Bruyne played the ball inside to John Stones who blasted a fierce drive past Alexander Meyer from outside the box.

FC Copenhagen held Sevilla to a scoreless draw as both sides picked up their first point of their Champions League Group G campaign from a game that showcased plenty of effort but little effective attacking football on Wednesday.

Battling Salzburg held a disjointed Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, severely denting the 2021 winners' chances of qualifying from Group E.

Raheem Sterling put the London side ahead in the 48th minute, latching on to a low cross from Mason Mount and shooting beyond the diving Philipp Kohn into the left corner of his net.

It was his first Champions League goal in Chelsea colours and the first goal under new coach Graham Potter, who took over last week following the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel.

But the well-organized Salzburg side, who also drew with AC Milan last week, ran tirelessly and were rewarded in the 75th minute when Noah Okafor sent a low cross home after Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva had failed to clear the ball.

AC Milan secured their first Champions League win this season after goals from Olivier Giroud, Alexis Saelemaekers and Tommaso Pobega powered them to a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb at home in Group E.

Giroud opened the scoring from the spot in the first half with Saelemaekers and Pobega adding two more after the interval as Milan, who drew at Salzburg in their group opener, grabbed a vital win despite a late rally from the Croatian champions.

Midfielder Federico Valverde scored a superb second-half goal and Marco Asensio struck late to fire holders Real Madrid to a 2-0 win at home to RB Leipzig in Group F.

Uruguayan Valverde showed composure to calmly beat a defender with clever footwork on the edge of the area before picking his spot in the bottom corner of the net in the 80th minute.

The 14-times winners gave an underwhelming performance and until Valverde's goal had only managed one shot on target, while Leipzig had created plenty of openings but were not clinical enough in the area.

Real wrapped up the victory with a goal in added time from substitute Asensio, the Spaniard slotting into the net after a lay off from Toni Kroos.

Real lead Group F with six points after two games, while Leipzig are bottom with no points.

Paris Saint-Germain came back from one goal down to win 3-1 away against Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa.

In front of 30,000 fans at the Sammy Ofer Stadium on Wednesday night, the home team quickly recovered from a strong start by PSG, and after two saves by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, managed to stun the French champions.

In the 24th minute, Surinamese midfielder Tjaronn Chery netted for Haifa after an accurate lofted pass by Dolev Haziza.

However, PSG silenced the stadium in the 37th minute, as Lionel Messi evened the score after a pass from Kylian Mbappe.

The Italian goalkeeper made an impressive save a minute before halftime from a long-range shot by Chery.

Haifa's Haitian striker Frantzdy Pierrot missed a fantastic chance in the 53rd minute, before the French outfit took full control, taking advantage of fatigue among Haifa's players.

Mbappe scored the second goal in the 69th minute after a brilliant pass by Messi, and Neymar sealed the win in the 88th minute, after a long-range pass by Marco Verratti.

PSG now have maximum points after two games in Group H along with Benfica, who beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin. Juventus and Haifa are both currently without any points.

Next up, Paris Saint-Germain will play Benfica in Lisbon, while Maccabi Haifa face Juventus in Turin, with both matches to be played on October 5.

Twice European Champions Benfica fought back to secure a 2-1 win at Juventus with goals from Joao Mario and David Neres, maintaining their perfect start in Champions League Group H. Agencies

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