PARIS, Sept 9 (Reuters) – New signing Ferran Torres struck a hat-trick as holders Paris St Germain made an emphatic start to the defence of their Champions League crown with a 6-1 home victory over Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday.
Last season’s runners-up Arsenal endured a sterner test at Napoli but captain Martin Odegaard’s late strike snatched a 1-0 victory while Liverpool came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield.
There was also success for Portuguese side Sporting, who overturned a fifth-minute deficit to defeat Galatasaray 3-1 in the Portuguese capital.
Ousmane Dembele scored twice before World Cup winner Torres struck three in succession as PSG romped to a routine win over the Slovak side, coached by former Champions League winner Yaya Toure.
The Parisians, chasing a third successive Champions League title, were 5-0 up in 57 minutes, before Suleiman Camara pulled one back. Fabian Ruiz scored their sixth two minutes from time as PSG showed none of the rustiness that has characterised their early season domestic league form.
Arsenal, the only club to win all eight league-phase fixtures last season, extended that run in their opening game of the new campaign as Odegaard finished off a series of smart passes with a thunderous 75th-minute shot to win their game in Italy.
“The result probably doesn’t reflect the performance,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. “We created many chances against a tough opponent. We had courage. It was a shame we missed so many big chances.”
Liverpool fell behind in the 17th minute when a swift Atletico counter allowed Marcos Llorente to score, but Dominik Szoboszlai levelled five minutes before halftime.
MidfielderAlexis Mac Allister completed the comeback with a thumping left-footed drive from outside the box in the 50th minute.
“It was ups and downs all the time, they have a good team,” said Szoboszlai of their Spanish opposition. “I think we have a good team as well. We gave everything that we had.”
Galatasaray took an early lead through Goncalo Inacio’s own goal but Geny Catamo equalised for Sporting in the 27th minute amid some poor defending by the Turkish side.
LuisSuarez converted a 57th-minute penalty to put Sporting ahead and a blistering free kick from Rodrigo Zalazar six minutes later sealed the win.
RAPHINHA DOUBLE AND DEMIROVIC HAT-TRICK
Earlier, Barcelona captain Raphinha scored twice as his side thrashed Feyenoord 5-1 while Ermedin Demirovic struck a 12-minute first-half hat-trick to give VfB Stuttgart a 3-1 home victory over Viking Stavanger.
Karim Adeyemi, Lamine Yamal and Gabriel Jesus were the other home scorers in a rain-soaked Barcelona while Sem Steijn got the Dutch club’s consolation goal.
“There is a long way to go until (the end of the season in) May, but it is true that things look very good because we are training very hard and everyone is hungry,” said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, as he praised his players.
Demirovic opened the scoring after 20 minutes with a touch at the near post, but Viking, making their first appearance in the group phase, were level two minutes later when Zlatko Tripic finished a swift counter-attack with his left foot.
Demirovic quickly re-established the lead in the 26th minute and then completed the hat-trick with a hooked volley six minutes later.
Another six fixtures are scheduled for Thursday, including three-time European champions Manchester United at home to Azerbaijani debutants Sabah, who came through four preliminary rounds of knockout matches to reach the group phase.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
