There was another action-packed night of action across Europe as the Champions League group stages resumed with matchday three.
It was an evening that was billed as the ‘Battle of Britain’ at Anfield as Liverpool played host to Scottish giants Rangers – with the Reds running out two-goal victors – while Tottenham were held to a frustrating scoreless draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt, to leave their knockout stages hopes hanging in the balance.
Yet there were six other matches with an incredible 24 goals flying in – an average of four per game. There were no shortage of former Premier League starts who were in the thick of the action. Here is the round-up of a busy evening of action.
Five-star Bayern cruise again
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Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)Bayern Munich had no problems easing past Viktoria Plzen to continue their perfect start to the group stage. Former Manchester City star Leroy Sane opened the scoring, before Serge Gnabry – previously of Arsenal and West Brom – quickly doubled the lead before Sadio Mane , the summer arrival from Liverpool, making it three.
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Jamal Musiala , graduate of Chelsea ’s youth system, had already assisted the opener and thought he had bagged the fourth before the break – only for it to be ruled out for offside. The second half saw Sane net his second and Bayern’s fourth before Eric Choupo-Moting , once of Stoke City, added a fifth.
Later on Tuesday, Inter edged out Barcelona 1-0 in northern Italy - Hakan Calhanoglu’s strike just before the break was the difference between the sides.
Alexis leads Marseille win
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NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images)In Tottenham’s group, Marseille recorded their first points of the campaign despite falling behind to an early Sporting CP goal. Francisco Trincao , previously of Wolves, opened the scoring for the visitors after being assisted by Londoner Marcus Edwards – who began his senior career at Tottenham.
Yet the hosts responded instantly, former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez with the leveller after closing down a clearance from the visiting goalkeeper. Marseille ultimately ran out 4-1 winners over the 10-men as Antonio Adan was dismissed for Sporting, with former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba adding a fourth.
Napoli hit Ajax for six
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Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)The standout result of the night saw Napoli run riot at Ajax, despite Mohammed Kudus opening the scoring for the Dutch side. Giacomo Raspadori netted a brace with Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Piotr Zielinski, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone all on the scoresheet. Interestingly for Spurs fans, midfielder Tanguy Ndombele impressed from the bench and provided the assist for Simeone’s strike.
Hudson-Odoi's Bayer pain
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Octavio Passos/Getty Images)Callum Hudson-Odoi thought he had opened his goal scoring account for Bayer Leverkusen, whom he joined on loan from Chelsea in summer. However, his opening strike away to Porto was ruled out for offside and Bayer ultimately fell to a two-goal defeat. Elsewhere in the group, Club Brugge secured an impressive – and deserved – 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.
