Goal rush as Salah, Messi strike
There was a goal rush in the Champions League yesterday and it was hardly a surprise to see Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah among the scorers.
By converting coolly taken penalties late in their games, Messi and Salah sealed 3-2 wins for Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, respectively, on a chaotic night when 35 goals were scored across eight group matches — at an average of nearly 4.4 goals.
Real Madrid and Manchester City grabbed five goals each away from home. Real Madrid beat Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0, while City thrashed Brugge 5-1.
Ajax produced perhaps the best performance of the lot in overwhelming Borussia Dortmund 4-0, with Sebastien Haller — the competition’s surprise leading scorer — netting his sixth goal of the group stage in just three rounds of games.
Messi is saving his goals for the Champions League in his first season at PSG.
The Argentina star rescued the French club in its 3-2 win over Leipzig, equalising in the 67th minute and then producing a cheeky ‘‘Panenka’’ penalty down the middle to complete PSG’s comeback at the Parc des Princes and move onto 123 career goals in the Champions League — second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 137.
Messi, whose only other goal for PSG came in a Champions League win over Man City last month, even passed up the opportunity for a hattrick when PSG were awarded another penalty in stoppage time. Kylian Mbappe took it instead — and powered it over the crossbar.
Salah became the first player in Liverpool’s 129-year history to score in nine straight games in all competitions, netting an early deflected goal after a mazy dribble and then stroking in a 78th-minute penalty to clinch a 3-2 victory at Atletico Madrid.
There was more late penalty drama in that game, too, with Atletico – down to 10 men following the red card to Antoine Griezmann after his two goals – seeing a spot kick awarded and then overturned after a referee check on the pitchside monitor.
Liverpool and Ajax are the only teams on maximum nine points, leaving them with a chance to advance with two games to spare.
MESSI’S DOUBLE
A typically bold Leipzig team dominated PSG for long spells, only to be hurt by one of the game’s alltime greats. It was 34th time that Messi scored two or more goals in a Champions League game.
Mbappe broke clear to score an opening goal that was canceled out by Andre Silva before Nordi Mukiele volleyed home in the 57th.
Messi then stroked in a square ball from Mbappe after Leipzig lost possession while the same pair combined for the winner, with Mbappe adjudged to have been pushed for the penalty.
Mbappe pointed straight at Messi to tell him he could take the spot kick and the Argentina captain made no mistake to keep PSG in first place, a point above City.
SALAH’S RECORD
Salah is in the form of his life and has 12 goals in 11 matches in total this season after a double in the same stadium where he scored one of Liverpool’s goals in their Champions League final victory in 2019.
Naby Keita’s sensational volley added to Salah’s eighth-minute goal, only for Griezmann to score in the 20th and 34th minutes as Atletico mounted a comeback.
The France striker was handed a straight red card for lifting his boot into the face of Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and another wild challenge, this time by Mario Hermoso on Diogo Jota, gave Salah the chance from the penalty spot. He sent Jan Oblak the wrong way.
Liverpool are five points clear of Atletico.