PSG held by Benfica while Dortmund spell the end for Lopetegui

(Football news) Borussia Dortmund scored three times in the first half to beat their Spanish opponents Sevilla 4-1 in the Champions League and stay on course for a top-two finish in Group G. BVB started the scoring when Raphael Guerreiro put them in front with a missile of shot from 16 metres from the goal before 19-year-old Jude Bellingham became the youngest captain to ever score in a Champions League match. The England international also became the first teenage midfielder to score in three consecutive Champions League games.

Karim Adeyemi then made sure that the result is beyond doubt when he made it 3-0 two minutes from half-time and Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri got a goal back six minutes after the restart but Julian Brandt put the icing on the cake with a glancing header in the 75th made to make sure of the three points. Dortmund face their arch nemesis Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, are also well placed in Group G as they are in second place with six points, three behind leaders Manchester City. Copenhagen and Sevilla. The result also meant the end of Julen Lopetegui as the coach who had been in charge since 2019, he has been struggling this season with his team in 17th place in La Liga. The outgoing Lopetegui left the pitch waving to the fans who chanted his name.

"That was definitely the reaction we wanted to show. I think the difference between today and the other day [against Cologne] is that we did our work early," Bellingham said. Three goals in the first half allows you to be a bit more comfortable in the second. I think that's a lesson for us going forward. For a start, the defenders and [keeper] Alex [Meyer] were absolutely brilliant tonight. I got this Player of the Match award for the goal and the assist, but I think those guys at the back were on a different level."

Lionel Messi set yet another record with a brilliant opening goal but Paris Saint-Germain were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Messi scored the opening goal midway through the first half after some delightful link-up play involving Kylian Mbappe and Neymar before a trademark left-foot finish from the edge of the box. The goal also  meant that the Argentine superstar became the first player in Champions League history to score goals against 40 different teams. But the lead did not last long as Benfica hit back in the 41st minute when an in-swinging cross from Enzo Fernandez touched off PSG defender Danilo and went into his own net.

The result meant that PSG and Benfica remained level on points at the top of Group H after three matches. The two teams will meet again in Paris next Tuesday. While Juventus have a chance of getting into the top 2 standings as they sit in third on three points after they got their first win against-Maccabi Haifa. Messi was substituted in the 81st minute as PSG coach Christophe Galtier indicated that the change for Pablo Sarabia only took place because Messi was tired after playing 90 minutes on the weekend also 

"He signalled that he wanted to come off. In the final sprint, he felt tired. He came off as he was tired and a fresher teammate was a much better option at that moment," Galtier said 

Also read: Champions League: Chelsea defeat AC Milan at Stamford Bridge
 

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