Liverpool back on track with Eintracht rout
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PARIS: Hugo Ekitike scored against his old club as Liverpool emphatically rebounded from a miserable run with a 5-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
There were also comfortable wins for Chelsea and Bayern Munich, while record 15-time champions Real Madrid maintained their perfect start in this season’s tournament with a 1-0 victory at home over struggling Juventus.
“I don’t know if it’s a statement but it is a win and something to build on,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told TNT Sports. “I’ve been in the football business for a while, so not relief. Obviously we are disappointed with losing games, so it’s something we have to deal with, stick together and keep working.”
The Anfield side came into their trip to Germany reeling after a run of four consecutive defeats which included a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in their last Champions League outing. Frankfurt had beaten Galatasaray 5-1 and also lost by that scoreline at Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea, Bayern also win big
But Ekitike out-shone record signing Alexander Isak once again as Liverpool bounced back from an early setback to move up to 10th in the 36-team league phase standings.
Reds boss Arne Slot chose to start both summer signings at Deutsche Bank Park and saw Ekitike score against the team he left in July, outsprinting three of his former team-mates before firing a low effort under Michael Zetterer. to cancel out Rasmus Kristensen’s 26th-minute opener. Ekitike didn’t celebrate but raised up his hands in an apologetic gesture.
Van Dijk headed the visitors in front at a corner on 39 minutes and Ibrahima Konate made it 3-1 before the interval in almost identical fashion.
Florian Wirtz provided his first Champions league assist in the 66th, setting up Cody Gakpo for a tap-in, and he did it again four minutes later for a low drive from Dominik Szoboszlai low drive from 30 metres out.
Isak, however, departed at half-time with a groin problem, having drawn yet another blank and has now scored just once in eight appearances for the club.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Chelsea won by the same scoreline against Ajax at Stamford Bridge, in a match which featured an early red card and three first-half penalties.
Enzo Maresca saw his teenagers rise to the challenge with 19-year-olds Marc Guiu and Tyrique George and Brazilian starlet Estevao Willian, 18, all on the scoresheet as the Blues ran riot after Ajax lost captain Kenneth Taylor to a 17th-minute red card.
“We trust a lot of young players,” said Maresca. “That is the strategy of the club, but not only the ones that we buy. Also the ones from the academy.”
After Taylor was sent off for an awful challenge on Facundo Buonanotte, Guiu and Moises Caicedo put Chelsea two up. Wout Weghorst pulled one back from the spot for Ajax.
But Enzo Fernández and Estevao netted spot kicks of their own to put Chelsea firmly in control at the break. Estevao became Chelsea’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League — shortly after Guiu had broken the record.
George extended Chelsea’s advantage shortly after replacing Guiu at halftime as for the first time in Champions League history three teenagers scored for the same team.
Chelsea have now won their last two European outings since beginning their campaign with a 3-1 defeat at Bayern.
Ajax, meanwhile, are bottom of the standings as one of only two teams without a point after three games — the other is Benfica.
KANE SCORES AGAIN
Bayern are one of five teams with the maximum nine points after trouncing Club Brugge 4-0 at the Allianz Arena to become the most successful German team ever at the start of a season with 12 straight victories.
Bayern Lennart Karl became the youngest Bayern player to score in the elite event at 17 years 242 days, and Harry Kane was on target yet again.
Karl made the most of only his second first team start when he fired Bayern ahead in spectacular fashion five minutes into the game, running between two defenders and firing into the top right corner from the edge of the area.
Kane tapped the second into the empty net at the far post off Konrad Laimer in the 14th for his 20th Bayern goal of the season
Laimer also set up Luis Diaz to score the third in the 34th, and Nicolas Jackson came on for Kane during the second half and tapped the fourth in the 79th.
Bayern’s 12 wins are a German start record and they are just one away from the record 13 in Europe’s top five leagues AC Milan achieved in 1992-93. Bayern can match that on Saturday in the Bundesliga at Borussia Monchengladbach.
PERFECT REAL
Real also have nine points following a hard-earned 1-0 victory against Juventus at the Santiago Bernabeu as England captain Kane’s compatriot Jude Bellingham scored for the first time this season ahead of Sunday’s Clasico against Barcelona.
Juve had a bright start at the Bernabeu but Real grew into the game as Brahim Diaz had a chance denied by goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio, who then saved even better against Kylian Mbappe later in the first half which ended after Eder Miltao blazed over.
Juve’s best chance came in the 52nd when Dusan Vlahovic ran across half the field but was denied by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois but Real were ahead five minutes later when Vinicius Junior danced past several defenders to hit the right post and Bellingham converted on the rebound.
Diaz came close to a second but Federico Gatti cleared on the goal-line before Courtois denied Juve a late equaliser from Filip Kostic.
Juve have now gone seven games without a win.
“Make no mistake, we played against a good side who defended well and defended in numbers,” Real midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni told Movistar. “We can look forward positively and keep working to add more wins.”
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Substitute Roberto Navarro had an immediate — and stunning impact — as he helped Athletic Bilbao to their first points, with a 3-1 comeback victory over Qarabag.
Navarro was brought on in the 65th minute, with the score 1-1, and gave the hosts the lead five minutes later with a delightful curled finish into the far corner.
Qarabag, who were surprisingly perfect going into the encounter, had taken the lead after just 49 seconds through Leandro Andrade.
But Gorka Guruzeta leveled shortly before halftime and also gave his team a two-goal cushion with full time looming.
In Lisbon, Portuguese champions Sporting came from behind to defeat Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in a game which hinged on a red card in first-half stoppage time.
Igor Paixao’s stunner put Marseille ahead, but Emerson Palmieri was dismissed for a second yellow for diving after a decision to award him a penalty was overturned.
Sporting used the extra man to equalise in the second half through Geny Catamo before Alisson Santos got their winner.
Nigeria superstar Victor Osimhen netted twice as Galatasaray beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in Istanbul.
SPURS DRAW WITH MONACO
Tottenham Hotspur became the only one of England’s six representatives to fail to win this midweek as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Monaco.
They had goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to thank for a clean sheet at the Stade Louis-II, which maintained an unbeaten start to their European campaign.
Atalanta and Slavia Prague drew 0-0 in the night’s other game.
The next round of Champions League action in a fortnight will include clashes between Paris St Germain and Bayern, and Liverpool and Real.
Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2025
