Champions League round-up: Messi hits 100th European goal as 10-man Barça win
Lionel Messi scored his 100th European goal as Barcelona maintained their 100 % winning start in Champions League Group D with a 3-1 victory over Olympiakos at the Camp Nou.
A Dimitris Nikolaou own goal set the five-time European champions on their way but Gerard Piqué’s red card for two bookable offences just before half-time gave the visitors a glimmer of hope.
Not for long, though, as Messi made it to his milestone with a lovely free-kick before setting up Lucas Digne as Barcelona made light of having just 10 men with quickfire goals in the second half.
Nikolaou slightly redeemed himself by heading home Kostas Fortounis’s corner for a consolation goal in injury time.
Also in Group D, Mario Mandzukic’s 84th-minute header earned Juventus a much-needed home victory over Sporting Lisbon.
With both sides having already beaten Olympiakos and lost to Barcelona, this was a crucial game in what appears a race for second place.
Sporting went ahead in the 12th minute through an Alex Sandro own goal but Miralem Pjanic equalised in the first half with a curling freekick. Just when it looked like Massimiliano Allegri’s side would have to settle for a draw, Mandzukic secured a 2-1 victory. Substitute Douglas Costa sent over a terrific cross from the left, matched by the quality of Mandzukic’s diving header.
Basel remain in second in Group A behind Manchester United after an excellent 2-0 away win against CSKA Moscow. Midfielder Taulant Xhaka broke clear of the home defence and beat veteran CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev to put Basel ahead on 29 minutes.
The Swiss side thought they had scored another early in the second half when Albian Ajeti’s drive beat Akinfeev, but referee Bjorn Kuipers ruled offside. After a string of missed chances, Dimitri Oberlin added another for Basel in the final minute.
Paris Saint-Germain marched on in Group B with a 4-0 thrashing of Anderlecht in Brussels. Their feared strikeforce of Kylian Mbappé, Edinson Cavani and Neymar all scored, while Angel di María added a fourth late on.
Atlético Madrid’s poor start in Group C continued as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw at Qarabag, with the Azerbaijani team picking up their first point. Yannick Carrasco and Antoine Griezmann missed good first-half chances for Diego Simeone’s side, who have yet to win in the Champions League this season.