Strong start for Europe’s big guns

BERLIN: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani each scored twice, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were in the goals for the French side and Robert Lewandowski was on the spot for Bayern Munich.

It was a good Champions League night for some of Europe’s top goal-getters as leading teams Barcelona, PSG, Bayern, Manchester United and Chelsea got off to strong starts in the first group stage matches.

An impressive Messi got his two as Barcelona downed last season’s losing finalists Juventus in Group D, moving to 99 goals in UEFA club competitions. Next up will be Sporting Lisbon, who earned a 3-2 win at Olympiakos.

In Glasgow, Messi’s former teammate Neymar and fellow new signing Mbappe made their marks for PSG with firsthalf goals in a perfect start for the record signings.

Cavani helped himself to two, including a first-half penalty in the 5-0 rout of Celtic. He is now the top scorer in European competition in PSG’s history, with 22 goals in 37 appearances, two ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was unhappy with his side’s performance, saying his team played like “under-12s” for a spell in the first half and PSG were levels ahead.

Next up for PSG are Bayern Munich, who defeated Anderlecht 3-0 but struggled at times against a Belgian side down to 10 men early in the game.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti said: “We went one up very early. Maybe that’s why we didn’t play at the highest intensity.”

Chelsea helped themselves to a 6-0 win over Azerbaijan newcomers Qarabag in Group C, where tougher opponents await in Roma and Atletico Madrid, who settled for a goalless draw.

In Group A, CSKA Moscow came from behind to win 2-1 at Benfica, while Manchester United had a comfortable 3-0 victory at home over Basel with goals from Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford.

Manager Jose Mourinho was critical of some of his side’s play in the second half at Old Trafford.

“After 2-0 everything changed. We stopped playing seriously and stopped making the right decisions,” he told BT Sport.”

“We could have put ourselves in trouble. We were playing fantasy football, PlayStation football. I don’t like it – flicks and tricks. We gambled and you have to respect your opponent.” – DPA