Champions League round-up: Bayern back to winning ways while Atletico continue resurgence
There were nine matches across Europe on Tuesday
Bayern Munich returned to winning ways in the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Sporting to move up to second the 36-team table and one step closer to securing automatic qualification to the next stage.
The Bundesliga champions were looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal last time out – there only loss this season in all competitions – and did so despite falling behind at the Allianz Arena.
It was yet another fine display from Bayern’s 17-year-old prodigy Lennart Karl, who made more history by becoming the youngest-ever player to score in three consecutive Champions League matches when he found the net on 69 minutes.
Karl’s strike completed the turnaround after a Joshua Kimmich own goal had given the visitors the lead before Serge Gnabry drew the hosts level.
Defender Jonathan Tah made the points safe with just under 15 minutes remaining with Bayern on the brink of securing a top-eight spot.
Elsewhere, in the absence of Mohamed Salah, Liverpool left it late to take all three points over last season’s finalists, while Tottenham cruised past Slavia Praha in London. Chelsea, however, were beaten in Bergamo by high-flying Atalanta.
Barcelona, meanwhile, marked their return to the Camp Nou for a Champions League game with a 2-1 win, coming from behind against Eintracht Frankfurt courtesy of a Jules Kounde double.
Another LaLiga powerhouse, Atletico Madrid, continued their resurgence in Europe’s elite club competition with a 3-2 win over PSV in Eindhoven.
Guus Til gave the hosts the lead before Julian Alvarez, David Hancko and Alexander Sorloth hit back for Diego Simeone’s side.
Ricardo Pepi pulled one to set up an interesting final five minutes, but the visitors held on to pick up their third-straight win in the competition to move into the top eight.
There was another five-goal thriller in Belgium, where Marseille pipped Union Saint-Gilloise 3-2 to jump up to 16th.
Anan Khalaili gave USG the lead after five minutes but the Ligue 1 title contenders responded with three goals from Igor Paixao and a Mason Greenwood brace.
Khalaili netted his second of the game with less than 20 minutes remaining, but Roberto De Zerbi’s men emerged with all three points.
Monaco narrowly beat Galatasaray 1-0 thanks to Folarin Balogun’s 68th-minute goal, while Olympiacos edged out Kairat by the same scoreline courtesy of Gelson Martins.
Full list of Tuesday Champions League results:
Kairat 0-1 Olympiacos
Bayern Munich 3-1 Sporting
Atalanta 2-1 Chelsea
Monaco 1-0 Galatasaray
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-3 Marseille
PSV 2-3 Atletico Madrid
Barcelona 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Inter 0-1 Liverpool
Tottenham 3-0 Slavia Praha