—- Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain underlined their Champions League title credentials with victories over Atletico Madrid and Villarreal respectively, while Manchester United came from two goals down to snatch a dramatic win over Roma.
Bayern broke down a stubborn Atletico side in Madrid as second-half goals from Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer secured victory while PSG set a record as the fastest team to score four goals in a Champions League match on their way to a 6-0 victory.
At Old Trafford, Matheus Cunha struck twice in quick succession after the break as United overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Roma 3-2, the comeback following protests by home supporters.
United seemed finished and manager Michael Carrick destined for the sack as Roma scored twice in six first-half minutes, through Matias Soule and a Donyell Malan penalty.
The goals turned the atmosphere inside Old Trafford venomous. Green tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch as a further sign of protest against the club’s ownership. Green and gold balloons were released as the teams came out and songs were chanted against the Glazer family, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and director of football Jason Wilcox.
United’s evening grew even worse when £70m midfielder Carlos Baleba suffered a hamstring injury that looks set to keep him out for a period of time.
But from the depths of despair, United rallied.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes kept his nerve to drive home a twice-taken penalty after a Roma player entered the area.
Then, after a Bryan Mbeumo shot had hit both posts, Matheus Cunha capitalised on Leonardo Balerdi’s error to equalise, before the Brazilian drilled home a shot from an acute angle four minutes from time.
Cunha was sent off for a second booking as the game entered stoppage time but in front of a frenzied crowd, United survived to end their nine-game wait for a victory.
Barcelona eased to a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa after Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the seventh minute and Raphinha added a second-half double.
Inter Milan were equally convincing, beating Feyenoord 3-0 at De Kuip. Yann Bisseck curled in the opener from long range, Pio Esposito headed the second before halftime and Piotr Zielinski completed the scoring from distance after the restart.
PSG remain top of the standings with 12 points, followed by a group of six teams on nine points including Barcelona and Villa.
Stadiums across Europe fell silent before kickoff in memory of Tenerife player Jesus de Miguel, who died earlier on Tuesday.
###