Sporting CP and AC Milan pulled off the most eye-catching wins of the opening night of UEFA Champions League Matchday 4.
Viktor Gyökeres scored a hat-trick as Sporting CP pulled off the result of the night against Manchester City, while Luis Díaz struck a treble of his own to maintain league phase leaders Liverpool’s perfect record and AC Milan stunned Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.
Celtic, Borussia Dortmund, PSV Eindhoven, GNK Dinamo and Monaco also picked up victories.
UEFA.com rounds up all the action from the opening night of UEFA Champions League Matchday 4.
- PSV Eindhoven 4-0 Girona
PSV claimed maximum points for the first time in the league phase with an emphatic victory.
The hosts were indebted to goalkeeper Walter Benítez early on before Ryan Flamingo acrobatically hooked in Malik Tillman’s long throw 16 minutes in.
Tillman doubled the advantage soon after the half-hour mark following a mazy run down the left flank.
The visitors were reduced to ten men shortly after half-time, when skipper Arnau Martínez was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
The Eredivisie outfit dominated the second period and struck twice in the space of six minutes late on, via Johan Bakayoko’s solo effort and Ladislav Krejčí’s own goal.
- Slovan Bratislava 1-4 GNK Dinamo
Two Sandro Kulenović goals helped Dinamo score three times or more away from home in the competition proper for the first time.
David Strelec’s close-range finish had put Slovan ahead, only for Dario Špikić to swiftly level with a solo effort.
Petar Sučić’s glancing header from Marko Pjaca’s cross quickly turned the scoreline around and, after half-time, Kulenović slotted in Pjaca’s delivery before curling in from distance.
Sučić and Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel both hit the woodwork late on as the dominant visitors recorded successive wins.
- Bologna 0-1 Monaco
Captain Thilo Kehrer struck late on to continue Monaco’s fine start to the league phase.
The visiting skipper prodded in on 86 minutes to secure a third win in four outings, after Breel Embolo had flicked on Aleksandr Golovin’s corner.
The Ligue 1 outfit had the better of the opening exchanges, with Łukasz Skorupski turning Embolo’s strike onto the post and producing a flying save to keep out Golovin’s curling free-kick.
The hosts, still in search of their first Champions League goal of the season, went closest via efforts from Sam Beukema and Giovanni Fabbian.
- Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz
Donyell Malen’s late strike secured a narrow win for Dortmund against Sturm Graz. The hosts were on top for much of the contest, as Kjell Scherpen denied Pascal Gross and Maximilian Beier in quick succession before the break.
Scherpen also thwarted Nico Schlotterbeck, while Mika Biereth headed over from close range at the other end. Just when it seemed the spoils would be shared, Malen fired into the corner to leave Sturm without a point.
- Celtic 3-1 Leipzig
Former Leipzig youth-team player Nicolas Kühn scored twice for Celtic to earn the hosts their second win of the league phase.
After Christoph Baumgartner headed in from Kevin Kampl’s corner to give Leipzig the lead, Kühn curled a sublime equaliser and slotted in during first-half added time for the Hoops’ 350th goal in the competition.
On the goalkeeper’s 38th birthday, Kasper Schmeichel denied Baumgartner a second before Reo Hatate swept in from close range as his side stayed perfect at home.
- Liverpool 4-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Xabi Alonso’s Anfield return saw his Leverkusen side lose a designated away match for the first time in almost 18 months as Luis Díaz scored his first Liverpool hat-trick.
All the goals came after the break, with the Colombia forward scooping in a smart opener before Cody Gakpo followed up with a headed second two minutes later.
Díaz then struck from close range following Mohamed Salah’s cross before taking the match ball after Darwin Núñez had been denied.
- LOSC Lille 1-1 Juventus
Lille and Juventus both moved onto seven points from four games after sharing the spoils at Stade Pierre Mauroy.
The hosts broke through after 27 minutes when Jonathan David latched onto Edon Zhegrova’s superb through ball to sweep past Michele Di Gregorio.
Dušan Vlahović – thwarted by Lucas Chevalier’s wonderful reflex save soon after – pulled the visitors level on the hour, as he calmly tucked home from the penalty spot after André was adjudged to have tripped Francisco Conceição.
- Real Madrid 1-3 Milan
Milan beat Madrid for the first time in 15 years with a superb display at the Bernabéu.
Malick Thiaw’s thumping header from a corner gave the visitors the lead, but Madrid levelled through Vinícius Júnior’s dinked penalty.
Álvaro Morata restored Milan’s advantage before half-time by reacting quickest to tuck in after Andriy Lunin parried Rafael Leão’s effort.
With Madrid pushing players forward, a devastating Rossoneri counterattack then ended with Leão squaring for Tijjani Reijnders to slam in and seal victory.
- Sporting CP 4-1 Manchester City
Viktor Gyökeres’ hat-trick helped Sporting come from behind to impose a first defeat in 27 Champions League matches on Manchester City.
Phil Foden’s strike had given the English champions an early lead, before Geovany Quenda found Gyökeres for the equaliser.
The hosts scored twice in quick succession at the start of the second half, Maximiliano Araújo finishing off a well-worked team goal straight from kick-off before Gyökeres converted a penalty.
Erling Haaland hit the crossbar from another penalty, before Gyökeres converted his second spot kick of the evening to wrap up a memorable final home game in charge for outgoing coach Rúben Amorim.
