Barcelona cruised to another emphatic Champions League victory, routing Red Star Belgrade 5-2 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich battled for a narrow 1-0 win over Benfica to secure three points.
After Inigo Martinez opened the scoring for Barcelona, Silas quickly leveled for Red Star.
However, Robert Lewandowski’s strike before halftime restored Barça’s lead, and the Pole later completed his brace to quash any comeback hopes for the hosts.
Raphinha and Fermin Lopez added to the tally before Felicio Milson pulled one back late for Red Star.
Bayern were desperate to win after losing their last two Champions League games but needed time to break the deadlock, finally scoring in the 67th minute thanks to Jamal Musiala.
VfB Stuttgart suffered their second defeat in four games with a 2-0 loss at home to Atalanta, while Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s penalty secured Inter Milan a 1-0 win over Arsenal.
Elsewhere, Brest defeated Sparta Prague 2-1, Red Bull Salzburg won 3-1 at Feyenoord and Atlético Madrid claimed a late 2-1 comeback win at Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona started their Champions League season with a 2-1 setback at Monaco but have since won three straight matches, scoring four or more goals in each, including a 4-1 thrashing of Bayern.
Martinez completed Raphinha’s free kick in the 13th minute, but Red Star responded as Rade Krunić threaded the ball through the Barcelona defense for Silas, who chipped a fine finish over onrushing Inaki Pena.
Lewandowski restored Barça’s lead in the 43rd and struck again in the 53rd.
Raphinha scored two minutes later, and Lopez also added his name to the scoresheet in the 76th. Milson’s goal in the 84th was too late for Red Star.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany will breathe a sigh of relief as he managed to ease mounting pressure in the Champions League with a narrow win against Benfica.
The Bavarians dominated from start to finish but struggled to break through a stubborn Benfica defense.
They finally scored in the 67th after Harry Kane’s header was cleared, leaving Musiala free to power a header past goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin.
“Sometimes 1-0 is enough. It was important to take the three points today,” Musiala told DAZN.
Kickoff was delayed by 15 minutes due to subway traffic issues after a signal box malfunction.
Warren Zaïre-Emery broke the deadlock for PSG in the 14th to delight home fans, but their lead was short-lived as Nahuel Molina equalized for Atlético just four minutes later. It looked like both teams would share the points, but Atlético surged up the pitch on a counterattack, and substitute Ángel Correa curled home the winner with the last kick of the game.
“The team put in a great effort at a difficult stadium. Paris played very well; they attacked the whole match, but we were confident. We worked hard in defense and as a team, and we got our goal at the end to claim victory,” Correa told Movistar.
PSG are now winless in three Champions League games, including two defeats.
In Stuttgart, the home team pushed hard for an equalizer after Ademola Lookman struck the opener for Atalanta in the 51st minute. However, the Italians kept their perfect record of not conceding a goal on the group stage and sealed the victory with Nicolo Zaniolo’s goal in the 88th.
“They were ice-cold in front of the goal, and we were not. That was a tough opponent,” Stuttgart’s Chris Fuhrich said.
Aston Villa had their perfect Champions League record shattered after a bizarre mistake by Tyrone Mings led to a 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge.
Mings picked up the ball with his hands inside the box after Emiliano Martinez took a goal kick, then returned it to the goalkeeper.
The error didn’t go unnoticed, and Brugge were awarded a penalty, which Hans Vanaken calmly converted in the 52nd minute.
Villa coach Unai Emery said that Mings’ error was “the biggest mistake I’ve witnessed in my career.”
Villa had won their three games before the trip to Brugge, and Wednesday’s defeat means that Liverpool are now the only team that hasn’t dropped points in four Champions League matches this season.
In another early game, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Young Boys 2-1.
