Ousmane Dembele returned from injury with a bang as Paris Saint-Germain tore apart Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in a stunning Champions League display on Tuesday night.
The Ballon d’Or winner had been sidelined since early September with a hamstring injury but wasted no time reminding everyone of his brilliance, scoring just three minutes after coming off the bench for his first appearance in six weeks. His goal was PSG’s sixth of the Champions League night in a ruthless showing that left Leverkusen shell-shocked at the BayArena.
Desire Doué grabbed two goals, while Willian Pacho, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha were also on target as Luis Enrique’s side ran riot.
Aleix Garcia scored both of Leverkusen’s goals, but the home team’s evening unraveled after captain Robert Andrich was sent off for elbowing Doué.
PSG defender Illia Zabarnyi followed soon after, conceding a second penalty to leave both sides with ten men before halftime.
“We are a team that always wants to win everything. This season, we want to win everything again,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique after the match.
“That will be difficult but we have the confidence we gained last year. We want this title again.”
Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand admitted his players lost focus in a disastrous spell before halftime. “We were level but we wanted too much,” he told Amazon Prime.
“We were too open and made too many mistakes in that seven-minute period. We met the best team in the world right now. They’re very strong.”
It was a commanding statement from the defending champions, who have endured an uneven start to the season due to injuries. Once reduced to ten men, PSG’s control only deepened, showing a mix of flair and grit that underscored their hunger to go back-to-back in Europe.
Over in Spain, Erling Haaland continued his extraordinary scoring streak as Manchester City comfortably beat Villarreal 2-0 at Estadio de la Ceramica.
The Norwegian striker needed just 17 minutes to make his mark, slamming home from close range after Rico Lewis’s clever pullback. Bernardo Silva doubled the lead before halftime to secure all three points and end City’s year-long wait for an away win in Europe.
Haaland has now scored in each of his last 12 games for club and country, with an astonishing total of 22 goals in that stretch. Pep Guardiola made four changes to his starting lineup, resting Phil Foden, but his side barely missed a beat.
Villarreal showed flashes of life in the second half, but City’s defense held firm. The only concern for Guardiola came when midfielder Nico Gonzalez limped off injured, joining Rodri on the sidelines.
Renato Veiga came closest for Villarreal, his header rattling the post in the closing minutes, while City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced several sharp saves to preserve the clean sheet.
At the Emirates, Arsenal delivered one of the performances of the night, sweeping aside Atlético Madrid 4-0 to notch their 100th Champions League victory.
After dominating the first half without scoring, the Gunners broke through after the restart when Gabriel Magalhães headed home Declan Rice’s pinpoint free-kick. Moments later, Gabriel Martinelli added a second with a composed finish, before Viktor Gyökeres scored twice in quick succession to cap a six-minute blitz that left Diego Simeone’s men stunned.
Arsenal’s energy and precision were too much for Atlético, who briefly threatened when Julián Álvarez hit the crossbar. Once the Gunners struck first, however, there was no way back for the visitors.
The win kept Arsenal’s perfect record intact in this season’s competition, with Mikel Arteta’s men yet to concede a goal. The manager was able to rest key players late on ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere on the Champions League night, Newcastle United brushed past Benfica 3-0, Inter Milan crushed Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0, and Barcelona dismantled Olympiacos 6-0, with Fermín López scoring a superb hat-trick.
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