PARIS: Liverpool slumped to an embarrassing 4-1 Champions League defeat at Anfield by PSV Eindhoven to pile more pressure on Arne Slot, while Arsenal ended Bayern Munich’s unbeaten start to the season with a “statement” win on Wednesday.

Holders PSG saw off Tottenham Hotspur in an eight-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes and Kylian Mbappe scored four times in a Champions League match for the first time as Real Madrid beat Olympiacos 4-3.

Beleaguered English champions Liverpool suffered a ninth defeat in 12 games in all competitions as they crumbled against PSV.

Liverpool conceded in just the sixth minute when Virgil van Dijk inexplicably handled the ball while appealing for a foul from a corner, with Ivan Perisic dispatching the resulting penalty into the corner.

Slot’s struggling side hit back quickly as Dominik Szoboszlai slotted in after visiting goalkeeper Matej Kovar could only parry Cody Gakpo’s shot.

PSV came out firing after the interval and restored their lead when Mauro Junior’s brilliant pass was steered in expertly by Guus Til.

The hosts’ latest humiliation, after a 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest at the weekend, was confirmed as Couhaib Driouech twice took advantage of calamitous defending to score late on.

“The emotions are very negative and disappointing, but I have to be positive about the reaction of the players after we went 1-0 down,” Slot said.

“Because I think until half-time we played a very good game. We had enough chances to go 2-1 up.”

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard however dismissed the talk of crisis but emphasised that the manager must find a way to arrest the team’s slide even as the pressure mounts on him.

“Crisis is a strong word, and disrespectful to some of the players that have delivered for this club, and for the manager that’s delivered three months ago,” Gerrard, who made 710 appearances for Liverpool, told TNT Sports.

“But you cannot deny the team is struggling massively, they’re on a terrible run, confidence is at an all-time low and they just keep bleeding. Unless the manager can find answers and stability in the team it’s going to continue.”

Meanwhile, Premier League leaders Arsenal maintained their 100-per cent record in the competition this season by ending Bayern’s, taking top spot in the 36-team table from the Bavarians with a 3-1 success.

Bayern fell behind at the Emirates in the 22nd minute when Jurrien Timber flicked Bukayo Saka’s corner past a flailing Manuel Neuer.

But 17-year-old Lennart Karl became the first player to score against Arsenal in the Champions League this season, firing home from an excellent volleyed pass by Serge Gnabry.

Noni Madueke put Arsenal back in the lead in the 69th minute, though, before Gabriel Martinelli tapped into an empty net after Neuer raced out of his goal and was beaten to the ball near the halfway line.

“I have to praise our players because I think they had an incredible match against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe,” said delighted Arsenal manager Arteta.

“Individually, we were immense to resolve all the challenges that this team brings to the table.” The Spaniard added: “We know that the margins are super small. We started the week really well against Spurs, winning here at home [a 4-1 victory].

Meanwhile Bayern’s star man Kane said there would be no panic though and predicted that the two sides could well clash again at the business end of the tournament next spring.

“It was a tough game which is kind of what we expected. It was a good battle in the first half which was fairly even,” Kane, who has bagged 29 goals in all competitions for club and country so far this season but was quiet on Wednesday, said.

“Second half we didn’t quite have the same energy or intensity and we lost too many duels. It’s our first loss of the season. We don’t want to panic too much about it. But we will learn about it for sure. “I’m sure we’ll see them [Arsenal] again in the later stages of the Champions League.”

VITINHA INPIRES PSG COMEBACK

At Paris, PSG bounced back from their loss to Bayern earlier this month as Vitinha scored a hat-trick in a 5-3 victory over Tottenham.

Spurs, as they did against PSG in the UEFA Super Cup in August, struck first when Richarlison nodded in from close range.

But the home side equalised on the stroke of half-time courtesy of a rasping long-range drive from Vitinha.

PSG fell behind again less than five minutes into the second half as Randal Kolo Muani hammered home a volley to score his first Spurs goal since joining on loan from the Ligue 1 giants.

Luis Enrique’s men wasted no time in responding as Vitinha curled in another brilliant strike from the edge of the box, before Fabian Ruiz put them in front for the first time.

Willian Pacho appeared to have put the game to bed, but Kolo Muani drilled in to give Tottenham renewed hope against his parent club.

PSG finally secured the three points through a Vitinha penalty in the 76th minute.

“It is the first time in my career I have scored a hat-trick and even scored two goals in one match, so it is really special,” Vitinha told Canal Plus.

FOUR-GOAL MBAPPE

Mbappe ran riot as Real moved into fifth place and snapped a three-game winless streak.

Olympiacos grabbed a surprise early lead when Chiquinho finished off a quick passing move with a powerful shot past stand-in Madrid ‘keeper Andriy Lunin.

But Mbappe levelled midway through the first half and scored his second just two minutes later, heading in Arda Guler’s cross.

He completed his fifth Champions League treble after racing clear on goal.

Mehdi Taremi pulled one back for the Greeks early in the second period but Mbappe quickly restored Real’s two-goal advantage.

Olympiacos’ Ayoub El Kaabi halved the deficit but the 15-time European champions held on.

“Mbappe is very important, that goes without saying,” Real manager Xabi Alonso said. “His goals are fundamental, but that’s not all. His personality... teamwork, unity.”

At the Metropolitano, last season’s runners-up Inter Milan missed out on the chance to go second in the table as Jose Gimenez’s injury-time goal snatched Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win at the Metropolitano.

In Cyprus, Atalanta climbed to 10th with an impressive 3-0 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt, while David Luiz scored as Pafos held AS Monaco to a 2-2 draw.

In Wednesday’s early kick-off, FC Copenhagen’s teenage striker Viktor Dadason was on target again as they beat Kairat Almaty 3-2 at home to register their first win in this season’s Champions League.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2025