Paris Saint-Germain's frustrating Champions League journey continued on Wednesday with a heartbreaking 2-1 home loss to Atlético Madrid, pushing the Ligue 1 leaders into the elimination zone.
Warren Zaïre-Emery's early goal was swiftly countered by Nahuel Molina in the first half of a largely uninspiring match, which concluded with Ángel Correa scoring the decisive goal three minutes into stoppage time.
With just four points from four games, PSG find themselves in 25th place out of 36 teams, trailing behind Ligue 1 rivals Monaco and Brest by six points, while Atléti escaped the red zone with six points.
PSG's next fixtures include trips to Bayern Munich and RB Salzburg, and once again, they are left lamenting missed opportunities. "We kept pushing until the very end," said PSG midfielder Vitinha. "Sadly, we conceded on their final chance. Could a true center-forward make things easier? It's hard to say. That's our strategy, and we'll improve."
Bayern Munich rebounded from their 4-1 loss to Barcelona in the previous Champions League match with a 1-0 home victory over Benfica, thanks to Jamal Musiala's powerful header. The German midfielder scored from close range in the 67th minute after Bayern had dominated the match but missed several chances. This result lifts Bayern to 17th place, with Benfica, who struggled offensively, also on six points in 19th.
Robert Lewandowski netted twice as Barcelona comfortably defeated Red Star Belgrade 5-2 in Serbia. The Polish striker scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season in his 16th match, bringing his Champions League total to 98 as Barça secured their seventh consecutive win across all competitions. Red Star's Silas briefly equalized Iñigo Martínez's header, but Lewandowski restored Barça's lead before halftime and added another before Raphinha and Fermín López sealed the victory. Milson scored a late consolation for Red Star, but Barça's third consecutive win in this season's revamped competition moved them up to sixth in the table.
Brest's strong start to their Champions League journey continued with a 2-1 victory over Sparta Prague. Edimilson Fernandes gave Brest the lead, and Kaan Kairinen's own goal provided breathing room before Victor Olatunji scored a late consolation for Sparta. Second-half goals from Ademola Lookman and Nicolò Zaniolo secured a 2-0 win for Atalanta at Stuttgart, keeping the Italian side undefeated in this season's competition. Lookman tapped in a cross from Charles De Ketelaere in the 51st minute, and Zaniolo struck the decisive second goal two minutes from time. This defeat ended Stuttgart's impressive home record of not losing a game in any competition for over a year, while Atalanta extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches.
RB Salzburg secured their first win with a 3-1 victory over 10-man Feyenoord. Karim Konate scored before and after halftime for Salzburg, and VAR upgraded Feyenoord midfielder Chris-Kévin Nadje's yellow card to a red. Feyenoord responded with a goal from Anis Hadj-Moussa, but Daouda Guindo restored Salzburg's two-goal lead. The Ukrainian champions, Shakhtar Donetsk, earned their first win with a 2-1 victory against Young Boys in a 'home' match in Gelsenkirchen. Young Boys, currently among the bottom five clubs, have lost all four of their opening matches.
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