There was a goal rush in the Champions League on Tuesday and it was hardly a surprise to see Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah among the scorers, according to AP.
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. 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, equalizing in the 67th 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.
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 were mixed fortunes for the Milan clubs.
Inter beat Moldovan upstart Sheriff 3-1 for its first win and goals of the group stage, lifting the Italian champions to within two points of the lead in Group D. Edin Džeko, Arturo Vidal and Stefan de Vrij scored for Inter at the San Siro.
As for its city rival, AC Milan might be unbeaten in Serie A but the team can’t find a way to win in the Champions League. A 1-0 loss at Porto means the Rossoneri has lost the first three matches in the group stage of the Champions League for the first time — a sad way to make a first group-phase appearance in eight years.
Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency