A late
Marcus Rashford goal helped Manchester United claim a 2-1 away victory against
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday while Barcelona recorded a statement 5-1 win
over Ferencvaros at the Camp Nou to get their 20-21 Champions League campaign
underway.
Rashford
scored the winner from the penalty spot when United progressed to the quarter-finals
of the 2018-19 campaign at the expense of the Parisians and was on target once
again at the Parc des Princes, drilling home a low shot three minutes from time.
Also Read: Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnarby tests positive for coronavirus
United took
the lead through when Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes slotted a penalty in
his second attempt on the 23-minute mark but were pegged back after Anthony
Martial headed in a corner from Neymar beyond David de Gea in goal in the 55th
minute.
Frantic
action followed in the thrilling Group H encounter as both teams chased all
three points and Rashford sealed the win after Keylor Navas denied him twice
earlier.
“Of course,
it’s a nice feeling. More importantly we win the game and we’re in a strong
position now in the group. It’s the first game, the concentration and intensity
we showed today we have to take forward in the next games in the Premier League,”
Rashford told BT Sport, according to AFP.
United will
next play RB Leipzig at Old Trafford, after the German side recorded a 2-0 home
win against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Meanwhile, Ronald
Koeman’s Barcelona got their European campaign off to a perfect start with a
5-1 rout of Ferencvaros to seize control over Group G.
Ferencvaros,
the first Hungarian side in the Champions League group stage in 11 years, got off
to a bright start and scored via Tokmac Nguen in the 12th minute
although the effort was ruled out for offside.
Also Read: Breaking down La Liga clubs’ prospects in the UEFA Champions League
Lionel Messi
won and scored a penalty in the 27th minute before Ansu Fati converted
from a sumptuous Frenkie de Jong pass just before the break to put the result beyond
doubt.
Philippe
Coutinho tripled Barca’s advantage before the visitors pulled one back from the
penalty spot, as Gerard Pique was given his marching orders for a blatant foul
on Nguen in the box. The red card will see the Spaniard miss the showpiece encounter
against Juventus next week.
Pedri and
Ousmane Dembele finished the scoring for the 10-man hosts as they prepare for
the weekend’s Clasico with Real Madrid.
“We go
into it with the maximum motivation possible,” said Fati. “It’s a
Clasico, a game I have always dreamed of playing in.”
Barca
announced contract extensions for Gerard Pique, Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter
Stegen and Clement Lenglet almost straight after the win.
Juventus
looked comfortable in their 2-0 win at Dynamo Kiev in what was the Andrea
Pirlo’s first ever Champions League match in the dugout, with Alvaro Morata
scoring twice to take the points for the Italians.
It was a
good night for Italy as Ciro Immobile got revenge on his old club Borussia
Dortmund by scoring in Lazio’s 3-1 win over the Bundesliga club in Rome, their
first Champions League match in 13 years.
Immobile
managed just three goals in 24 Bundesliga games for Dortmund in 2014/15, but
last season’s European Golden Shoe winner outshone Dortmund’s star forward
Erling Braut Haaland by netting the opening goal for the hosts after just six
minutes.
Lazio went
two ahead midway through the first half thanks to Marwin Hitz deflected Luis
Alberto’s whipped corner into his own goal.
Also Read: Breaking down Premier League clubs’ prospects in the Champions League
Haaland
pulled one back with a thumping finish but Immobile laid on an easy finish for
Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro to hand Lazio a big win.
“There
was an extra flavour and we are satisfied because the match was played to
perfection,” continued Immobile.
Simone
Inzaghi’s men are level on three points with Club Brugge in Group F following
their dramatic 2-1 win at Zenit Saint Petersburg earned thanks to Charles De
Ketelaere 93rd minute winner.
Also Read: Breaking down Bundesliga clubs’ prospects in the Champions League
Chelsea are
still waiting for a £220 million ($284 million) spending spree to pay off they
began their campaign with an uninspiring 0-0 Group E draw with Sevilla at
Stamford Bridge.
The Blues
have now won just two of their opening six games of the season and the only
consolation of a cagey encounter for Frank Lampard was a rare clean sheet.
All four
sides in the group are on a single point after Rennes drew 1-1 with Krasnodar
in their first ever Champions League match in front of 5,000 passionate fans in
Brittany.
