Newcastle United’s Champions League campaign has lift off now after the Geordies beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in front of a packed and passionate St James Park; and Eddie Howe’s side are now clear at the top of Group F after Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan drew 0-0.
The battle of the oil rich clubs quickly went the way of the Magpies as Miguel Almiron fired home from close range with just 17 minutes on the clock. Newcastle were the better side throughout the first half and doubled their lead through a Dan Burn header which was eventually given after a lengthy VAR wait.
Kylian Mbappe had been stifled as the Newcastle defence snuffed out any opportunity and five minutes into the second half the Geordie fans were in dreamland when Sean Longstaff took a brilliant pass from Kieran Trippier and smashed home the third. Lucas Hernandez headed one back for Paris Saint-Germain but Fabian Schar made it 4-1 in injury time.
Newcastle have arrived.
In other news, Manchester City won 3-1 away to Red Bull Leipzig to take full control of Group G, as Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku replied to a Lois Openda goal; and Barcelona won away to Porto to lead Group H.
There is steel in Munich and Madrid
Five of Tuesday’s ties ended in away wins, and two of the leading teams, according to the early Champions League 2023 betting odds, picked up hard earned victories. Life isn’t always easy for the mega-clubs of Europe and it certainly wasn’t for Bayern Munich who had to come from behind to beat FC Copenhagen, a result which took them to the top of Group A, two points ahead of Galatasaray. It wasn’t a great night for Harry Kane who has been in superb form since his move to Bavaria, he didn’t have much luck in front of goal and his team had to come from behind when Lukas Lerager gave Copenhagen a surprise lead on 55 minutes.
But Bayern showed they are made of stern stuff as Jamal Musiala fired in from the edge of the box and, with just seven minutes left on the clock, Thomas Muller put in a killer ball for Mathys Tel to grab the winner.
Over in Naples, here at SBOTOP we knew we were in for a cracker when Real Madrid visited the Diego Maradona Stadium to face Napoli, and Los Blancos went behind early when keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga flapped at the ball and Leo Ostigard pounced to put the hosts ahead. But Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid fought back hard with Vinicius Junior levelling within ten minutes and the red hot Jude Bellingham gave the visitors a lead with a sublime finish. Piotr Zielinski levelled for Napoli from the penalty spot but an unlucky own goal by Alex Meret gave Los Blancos all three points.
Premier League giants get a nasty jolt
While Bayern Munich and Real Madrid picked up good Champions League 2023 results on Tuesday, it was a bad night for the Premier League clubs, Manchester United and Arsenal, whose hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 took heavy blows. The Red Devils have made a shocking start to their campaign, at home and in Europe, and they are now rock bottom of Group A after losing 3-2 at home to Turkish side Galatasaray. Summer recruit Rasmus Hojlund had his best game yet, twice giving United the lead, but former Red Devil Wilfried Zaha scored first for the Turks and then Kerem Akturkoglu levelled again. At 2-2 it all went horribly wrong for United when under fire keeper Andre Onana made a mistake which led to Casemiro being red carded and giving a penalty away. Mauro Icardi missed the penalty but made amends when he bagged an 81st minute winner.
While Manchester United have had a poor few weeks, Arsenal’s loss away to RC Lens was more of a surprise. Don’t get me wrong, Lens are no mugs, finishing second in Ligue 1 last season ahead of the lines of AS Monaco and Olympique Marseilles. But the Gunners are one of the tournament favourites and the hosts had to come from behind after Gabriel Jesus gave Arsenal a first half lead; but Lens hit back quickly through Adrien Thomasson. When Sepe Wahi gave the French side a lead on 69 minutes the lacklustre visitors had no reply, going down to a first defeat this season; and to make matters worse Bukayo Saka limped off. Arsenal fans will hope he’s fit for the upcoming clash with Premier League leaders Manchester City.
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