Messi, Salah score two each in CL goal rush

Published October 21, 2021
MADRID: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah shoots to score from a penalty during their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.—AFP
MADRID: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah shoots to score from a penalty during their Champions League match against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.—AFP

LONDON: There was a goal rush in the Champions League on Tuesday and it was hardly a surprise to see Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah among the scorers.

By converting coolly-taken penalties late in their games, Messi and Salah sealed 3-2 wins for Paris St Germain and Liverpool, respectively, on a breathless night of action when 35 goals were scored across eight group matches at an average of nearly 4.4 goals.

Real Madrid and Manchester City grabbed five goals each away from home. Ajax produced perhaps the best performance of the lot in overwhelming Borussia Dortmund 4-0, with Sebastien Haller the competition’s surprise leading scorer netting his sixth goal of the group stage in just three rounds of games.

Messi is saving his goals for the Champions League in his first season at PSG. The Argentina star rescued the French club in their 3-2 win over Leipzig, equalising in the 67th and then producing a cheeky Panenka penalty down the middle to complete PSGs comeback at the Parc des Princes and move onto 123 career goals in the Champions League — second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 137.

Messi, whose only other goal for PSG came in a Champions League win over City last month, even passed up the opportunity for a hat-trick when PSG were awarded another penalty in stoppage time. Kylian Mbappe took it instead and powered it over the crossbar.

Salah became the first player in Liverpool’s 129-year history to score in nine straight games in all competitions, netting an early deflected goal after a mazy dribble and then stroking in a 78th-minute penalty to clinch a 3-2 victory at Atletico Madrid.

There was more late penalty drama in that game, too, with Atletico down to 10 men following the red card to Antoine Griezmann after his two goals seeing a spot kick awarded and then overturned after a referee check on the pitchside monitor.

PARIS: Paris St Germain’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring during the match against RB Leipzig at the Parc des Princes.—Reuters
PARIS: Paris St Germain’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring during the match against RB Leipzig at the Parc des Princes.—Reuters

Liverpool and Ajax are the only teams on a maximum nine points, leaving them with a chance to advance with two games to spare.

A typically bold Leipzig team dominated PSG for long spells at the Parc des Princes, only to be hurt by one of the game’s all-time greats. It was 34th time that Messi scored two or more goals in a Champions League game.

Mbappe broke clear to score an opening goal that was cancelled out by Andre Silva before Nordi Mukiele volleyed home in the 57th.

Messi then stroked in a square ball from Mbappe after Leipzig lost possession while the same pair combined for the winner, with Mbappe adjudged to have been pushed for the penalty.

Mbappe pointed straight at Messi to tell him he could take the spot kick and the Argentina captain made no mistake to keep PSG top in Group ‘A’, a point above City.

Salah is in the form of his life and now has 12 goals in 11 matches in total this season after a double at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, where he scored one of Liverpool’s goals in its Champions League final victory in 2019.

Naby Keita’s sensational volley added to Salah’s eighth-minute goal, only for Griezmann to score in the 20th and 34th minutes as Atletico mounted a comeback.

Just as Atletico seemed to have the upper hand, Griezmann was given a straight red card for a high boot in the face of Roberto Firmino.

A pulsating game was decided from the penalty spot in the 78th minute as Salah sent Jan Oblak the wrong way after Mario Hermoso pushed Diogo Jota. The Egyptian’s 31st Champions League goal makes him the club’s top scorer in the competition, overtaking Steven Gerrard.

In a dramatic finish, Atletico were denied a penalty when the referee studied the VAR and decided Jota had not fouled Jose Maria Gimenez.

“We played a really solid second half in a tough game with intense football from both teams,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport.

“We got the penalty, then there was a red card and obviously it was in our favour.”

The Reds are top of Group ‘B’, five points clear of Atletico.

YOUNGSTERS SHINE

Two of world football’s best young players inspired the heavy wins for Real and City.

Vinicius Junior, a 21-year-old Brazilian, scored two goals including one from a wonderful, slaloming solo run and an assist in Madrid’s 5-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk. Rodrygo and Karim Benzema, with his 73rd Champions League goal, completed the rout that started with an own-goal by Shakhtar captain Sergiy Kryvtsov in the 37th.

Phil Foden, another 21-year-old forward, might not have scored in City’s 5-1 win at Club Brugge, but he was behind much of the team’s best work, including a sumptuous pass from deep to set up Joao Cancelo for the opener.

Riyad Mahrez had two goals, including a penalty, Kyle Walker ran onto Kevin De Bruyne’s pass to score the fourth and 19-year-old substitute Cole Palmer added the fifth two minutes after coming on for his debut in the competition with Pep Guardiola declaring City’s win “one of the best performances in Europe we’ve done so far.”

There were mixed fortunes for the Milan clubs. Inter beat Moldovan upstarts Sheriff Tiraspol 3-1 for their first win and goals of the group stage, lifting the Italian champions to within two points of Sheriff and Real on top of Group ‘D’. Edin Dzeko, Arturo Vidal and Stefan de Vrij scored for Inter at the San Siro.

As for their city rivals, AC Milan might be unbeaten in Serie A but the team can’t find a way to win in the Champions League.

A 1-0 loss at Porto means the Rossoneri have lost the first three matches in the group stage of the Champions League for the first time — a sad way to make a first group-phase appearance in eight years.

Luis Diaz scored from the edge of the area in the 65th minute as Porto joined Atletico on four points.

Dortmund and Erling Braut Haaland had an off night as they were beaten at the Amsterdam Arena with Ajax taking an iron grip on Group ‘C’ with Dortmund second on six points.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2021

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