By Ruairidh Barlow; Reuters.
Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain underlined their Champions League title credentials with victories over Atletico Madrid and Villarreal respectively on Tuesday, while Manchester United came from two goals down to snatch a dramatic win over AS 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.
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, while Inter Milan were equally convincing, beating Feyenoord 3-0 at De Kuip.
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.
At the Metropolitano, Bayern enjoyed the majority of possession but struggled initially to break down a disciplined Atletico side, who finished the first half without a shot on target.
That was not a true reflection, however, of the threat the hosts carried on the counter-attack.
Bayern’s first clear chance did not come until the 22nd minute when Karl shot wide, before an unmarked Harry Kane volleyed off target from close range four minutes later.
A series of well-timed defensive interventions prevented Bayern from building momentum, leaving Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak largely untroubled before the break.
Karl made the breakthrough after halftime, dispossessing Robin Le Normand inside the Atletico penalty area before finishing neatly.
Atletico pushed Bayern back after falling behind but created few clear chances and their determination to play out from defence again proved costly in the 74th minute.
Bayern regained possession before Kane’s precise pass released Laimer, who produced an equally assured finish to put the result beyond doubt.
Roma seized control against Manchester United when Matias Soule opened the scoring in the 11th minute, before Donyell Malen doubled their advantage from the penalty spot seven minutes later.
The early goals intensified the discontent among the home supporters, who had released hundreds of green and gold balloons as the teams emerged, a reference to United’s original colours, before throwing dozens of yellow tennis balls onto the pitch in the first half.
United began their fightback in the 58th minute when captain Bruno Fernandes scored a retaken penalty.
Cunha then transformed the contest, equalising seven minutes from time before scoring again three minutes later to complete the turnaround and spark jubilant celebrations at Old Trafford.
His eventful night ended prematurely, however. Booked for removing his shirt and jumping into the stands after his winner, the Brazilian was sent off for a late challenge in stoppage time, completing a chaotic eight-minute spell.
At the Camp Nou, Barcelona’s Lamine pounced on a loose Aston Villa pass to open the scoring after seven minutes, although Unai Emery’s side created the clearer openings before the break despite pressure from the hosts.
Raphinha made the closing stages comfortable for Barcelona with a deflected strike before adding his second from an exquisite Joao Cancelo assist.
Inter Milan delivered a clinical away performance to defeat Feyenoord. Yann Bisseck scored early with a long-range curler, before Pio Esposito headed home a second before halftime and Piotr Zielinski sealed the victory.
LASK claimed only their second ever Champions League win in a 4-0 triumph over Slovan Bratislava, while hosts Bodo/Glimt drew 0-0 with Lille.
Earlier, Aleksey Batrakov scored twice as Galatasaray beat Stuttgart 2-0, while Sporting defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.