Bayern Munich underlined its status as the leading force in European soccer by handing Paris Saint-Germain a first loss in its Champions League title defense, while Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in another blockbuster matchup on Tuesday.
Luis Diaz took center stage for Bayern, scoring twice before getting a red card in first-half stoppage time for a reckless lunge on Achraf Hakimi that forced the PSG defender off with an injured left ankle.
PSG, which had already seen Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé come off hurt, reduced the deficit through Joao Neves but Bayern held on for a 2-1 win and a 16th straight victory in all competitions.
The German champions are one of two teams on a maximum 12 points. Arsenal is the other after a 3-0 win at Slavia Prague.
At Anfield, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced save after save to defy Liverpool almost single-handedly but was finally beaten by Alexis Mac Allister’s header in the 61st minute.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left Liverpool for Real Madrid in the offseason, was jeered by the home fans before the game and after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Meanwhile, the goal-of-the-season contest in the Champions League might already be over midway through the fourth round.
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven set off on a mazy, 90-meter run from the edge of his own area and converted his shot for the team’s third goal in a 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen.
Arsenal’s record-setters
A fourth straight win. An eighth straight clean sheet to tie a 122-year record. A competition debut for 15-year-old schoolkid.
It was quite the night for Arsenal in Prague, where Bukayo Saka converted a penalty and Mikel Merino added two second-half goals.
Arsenal has yet to concede a goal in the Champion League and has matching its best-ever streak for shutouts, which was recorded in 1903 when in the second tier of English soccer.
Max Dowman, aged 15 years and 308 days, entered as a second-half substitute for the Premier League leaders to become the youngest player in Champions League history.
Spalletti’s start
Juventus is still waiting for its first win of the league stage after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Sporting Lisbon in Luciano Spalletti’s first Champions League game since taking over as coach.
The former Italy and Napoli coach watched the team’s poor start as Maximiliano Araújo fired in off the far post in the 12th minute. Francisco Trincão struck the crossbar just afterward, leaving Spalletti with his arms outstretched on the sideline.
Dušan Vlahović equalized in the 34th.
Wins for Atletico, Monaco
Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher and Marcos Llorente scored a goal each as Atletico Madrid defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 at home.
It was a second win for Atletico, which was coming off a 4-0 defeat at Arsenal in the previous round.
Monaco also won, 1-0 at Bodø/Glimt thanks to U.S. international Folarin Balogun’s first-half strike, for a first victory of the campaign.
Stalemate
Goals were expected but none arrived in a 0-0 draw between Napoli and visiting Eintracht Frankfurt.
Napoli was coming off a 6-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven two weeks ago but was without its most creative player in Kevin De Bruyne, who has just undergone surgery on his right hamstring.
It marked an end to Frankfurt’s remarkable run of 5-1 results in this season’s competition, with the German team having been on the receiving end of two of them.
In the night’s other match, U.S. striker Ricardo Pepi scored in the third minute of stoppage time for PSV to salvage a 1-1 draw at Olympiakos.
