It was a Champions League night defined by goals, drama, and dominance — as Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven, and Arsenal all delivered emphatic victories in a matchday that produced 43 goals across nine fixtures.
Reigning champions PSG produced a dazzling attacking display to crush Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in Germany — their biggest-ever away win in the Champions League.
A frantic first half set the tone. Desire Doué struck twice, with Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also on target for the visitors. Leverkusen’s Aleix García converted a penalty after Alejandro Grimaldo had earlier missed from the spot, while both sides were reduced to ten men before halftime as Robert Andrich and Illia Zabarnyi were sent off.
Nuno Mendes added PSG’s fifth shortly after the break before García briefly made it 5-2, but Ousmane Dembélé, making his first appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or, scored the sixth before Vitinha sealed the rout late on.
“I’m not yet at 100 per cent,” Dembélé told Canal Plus. “The coach wanted me to wait, but I felt great tonight.”
With nine points from three matches and a remarkable goal difference, PSG sit comfortably atop the league-phase standings.
Inter Milan and Arsenal joined PSG in preserving their 100% records after three games.
In Brussels, Inter swept aside Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0, with Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martínez scoring before the break, Hakan Çalhanoğlu converting from the spot, and teenager Pio Esposito completing the scoring.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal dismantled Atletico Madrid 4-0 to continue their flawless European campaign without conceding a goal. All four strikes came in the second half — Gabriel Magalhães opened the scoring, Gabriel Martinelli added a second, and Viktor Gyökeres netted twice to end a seven-game drought.
“Hopefully this is the start of a great run for him,” said manager Mikel Arteta, praising his in-form striker.
Erling Haaland extended his extraordinary scoring streak as Manchester City claimed a 2-0 win away to Villarreal.
The Norwegian star opened the scoring before Bernardo Silva doubled the lead prior to halftime, keeping Pep Guardiola’s side unbeaten with seven points from three outings.
Haaland has now scored 15 goals in 11 appearances across all competitions this season. “We’re improving step by step,” said Guardiola. “The signs are very positive.”
After their home defeat to PSG last time out, Barcelona responded in emphatic style, thrashing Olympiacos 6-1 at the Montjuïc Stadium.
Midfielder Fermín López stole the show with a superb hat-trick, while Lamine Yamal converted a penalty and Marcus Rashford added a brace. Ayoub El Kaabi’s spot-kick provided little consolation for the Greek side.
At St James’ Park, Newcastle United made it back-to-back wins with a commanding 3-0 victory over Benfica. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before substitute Harvey Barnes netted twice, leaving José Mourinho’s team bottom of the group and still without a point.
PSV Eindhoven produced one of the night’s biggest surprises with a 6-2 win over Italian champions Napoli.
Despite Scott McTominay giving Napoli an early lead, PSV hit back through an Alessandro Buongiorno own goal and Ismael Saibari, before Dennis Man struck twice. Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech also found the net, while McTominay’s late effort was only a consolation. Napoli’s misery deepened when Lorenzo Lucca was sent off in the closing stages.
The only game without a goal came in Kazakhstan, where Kairat Almaty and Pafos of Cyprus played out a 0-0 draw, offering a rare moment of calm on an otherwise explosive evening of European football.
From PSG’s record-breaking display to Gyökeres’ resurgence and Haaland’s relentless scoring form, the Champions League delivered another night to remember — a festival of attacking football that reaffirmed Europe’s elite clubs are hitting full stride.
