Liverpool remain perfect in the Champions League and Raphinha scores a hat trick for Barcelona

It was a great night for the English clubs, and for the Barcelona captain Raphinha.

Premier League leaders Liverpool moved level on points with Aston Villa at the top of the Champions League table on Wednesday by extending their perfect record to three wins, and Manchester City set a new record of unbeaten consecutive games in the history of the competition.

Liverpool beat Leipzig 1-0 with a goal from Darwin Núñez. City defeated Sparta Prague 5-0 with Erling Haaland scoring twice.

Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona finally beat Bayern Munich to end the German side’s six-game winning streak in their head-to-head matches which included a humiliating 8-2 defeat by at Barça in the quarter-finals of 2020.

This time, Barcelona came out on top in an entertaining contest with a 4-1 declared victory.

After three rounds in the revamped tournament, Liverpool and Aston Villa have a two-point lead over seven clubs, including Man City and fellow Premier League side Arsenal. The four English teams in the competition have only conceded a combined goal so far.

Raphinha in a roll

In Barcelona, ​​the home side opened the scoring within a minute when Raphinha was met by Fermín López’s deep pass and then rounded Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with ease.

Bayern equalized with a Harry Kane volley, but Barcelona responded with a goal from former Bayern great Robert Lewandowski and two more from Raphinha, who was then substituted to a standing ovation.

It was Barcelona’s first win over Bayern since the Champions League semi-finals in 2015. Barcelona came into the match without scoring in their four games against Bayern since an 8-2 defeat in 2020. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick coached Bayern in that game.

“It could have been a Champions League final. Winning like this, in front of our fans, is the best,” said Raphinha. “What we’re doing on the field corresponds to what Barça can do in this Champions League.”

Liverpool is still perfect

Arne Slot has guided Liverpool to the top of the Premier League early in his tenure as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement and now has the team on a maximum nine points in the Champions League.

The last win in Europe came at Leipzig, one of the clubs Klopp will oversee in his new role as head of world football at Red Bull.

Núñez scored the only goal in the 27th minute from a Mohamed Salah header towards goal and could have deserved a penalty in the 38th when he appeared to be tripped by Willi Orban.

“If we had come out of this place with a draw, I would have really felt like we lost something,” Slot told TNT Sports. “For the previous 70 minutes, except maybe the first 10, we dominated.”

Leipzig are the only team in the big 5 leagues to have lost their first three games.

City improve United’s record

Manchester City’s new record won’t go down well with the red half of the English city.

By beating Sparta Prague, the English champions set the record for consecutive unbeaten matches in the competition’s history, including from before 1992 until the European Cup era. City are now 26 matches unbeaten. Alex Ferguson’s Man United side from 2007-09 managed to go 25 games unbeaten.

Phil Foden put the home side ahead with less than three minutes remaining. Haaland then scored a stunning goal from the back of his heel. John Stones made it 3-0, Haaland grabbed his second and Matheus Nunes added gloss to the emphatic victory.

Lille upset Atlético

After beating Real Madrid 1-0 in the previous round, Lille won 3-1 at Atletico, who are unbeaten in their last 11 home games in the Champions League.

The French team has only had three shots on goal, including a penalty.

Julian Alvarez put the home side ahead with an early goal before Edon Zhegrova equalized near the hour mark. Jonathan David then scored from the spot in the 74th minute and completed a brace in the 89th minute.

“Maybe we didn’t play a great game, but we played what we needed to tonight,” Lille midfielder Benjamin Andre said.

Brest frustrates Leverkusen

A superb goal from Pierre Lees-Melou helped Brest draw 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen as both teams remained unbeaten.

The French team played with momentum throughout the second half but could not find the second goal.

Playing in Europe’s top competition for the first time, the newcomers faced their toughest test yet against the German champions, who had also won their first two games in the revamped tournament.

Florian Wirtz’s low shot gave Leverkusen the lead in the 24th minute. It was his seventh goal in all competitions this season. Lees-Melou, recently back from a broken leg, equalized with a right-footed volley from outside the area. It was his first goal since March.

Other parties

Elsewhere, Celtic battled back but frustrated Atalanta with a 0-0 draw. Mario Pašalić hits the woodwork for the Italian side.

Looking for a third straight win, Benfica lost 3-1 to Feyenoord, while substitute Marcus Thuram scored in stoppage time to help Inter Milan to a 1-0 win at the Young Boys.

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AP sportswriters James Ellingworth, Daniella Matar, Steve Douglas, James Robson and Tales Azzoni contributed to this report.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer