Liverpool lose their perfect Champions League start, Como thrash Lens 9:1

Liverpool lose their perfect start and Como record a record rout

Liverpool's perfect run in this season's Champions League came to an end on Wednesday: the team lost 2:3 to Fenerbahce in Istanbul, AFP reports. Previously the Merseysiders had beaten Atletico, LASK and Villarreal, while at the weekend they lost to Arsenal in the Premier League. The visitors led twice — a goal from 19-year-old Trey Nyoni was his first at senior level, and after the break Alexander Isak also scored — but Fenerbahce came back twice and snatched the win: Mason Greenwood (via a deflection), Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi scored for the hosts. Notably, Fenerbahce, sitting sixth in the Turkish Super Lig and already having lost 0:6 to Aston Villa this season, are temporarily led by former Liverpool player Dirk Kuyt.

Como match a historic record

The biggest sensation of the round was Como's 9:1 away win over Lens. Cesc Fabregas's side became only the third team since the modern Champions League format was introduced in 1992 to win by an eight-goal margin, after Liverpool (8:0 against Besiktas in 2007) and Real Madrid (8:0 against Malmo in 2015). Greek striker Anastasios Douvikas scored a hat-trick, while Nico Paz, Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina and Matteo Papaccioli also got on the scoresheet; Ruben Aguilar scored Lens's only goal. Como are the second team in the tournament's history to score nine goals in a match, after Bayern, who beat Dinamo Zagreb 9:2 in 2024. Two weeks after thrashing Manchester United (4:1), the Italians sit fourth in the overall table on nine points — three behind PSG and Real Madrid and one behind Arsenal.

Real come back again, English clubs win away

Real Madrid maintained their perfect record in the league phase by coming back once again: after their comeback against Roma (4:3), the team beat AEK in Greece 3:2. Aboubakar Koita's goal cancelled out Jude Bellingham's backheel strike, then AEK went ahead again, but Kylian Mbappe equalised (his 16th goal of the season in all competitions) and Federico Valverde scored the winner in stoppage time; Koita was sent off at the end. Arsenal beat Slavia 2:1 thanks to first-half goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres, while Manchester City, twice letting their lead slip, beat Leipzig 3:2 thanks to a late Erling Haaland goal. Both teams, along with seven other clubs, have nine points. In the round's other matches, Borussia Dortmund beat Betis 2:1 (the winner scored by 17-year-old Greek Konstantinos Karetsas), Club Brugge overcame PSV (2:1), Porto thrashed Napoli 4:1 to claim their first points of the campaign, and Viking from Stavanger came back to beat Azerbaijan's Sabah 4:1, securing their first win.