The key facts

  • Arsenal — Lille 3:0: goals from Timber (64), Eze (67) and Saka (71).
  • Galatasaray — Barcelona 1:4: Batrakov scored for the hosts; Cancelo (43), Fermin Lopez (50), Gordon (53) and Ademola (65) for the visitors.
  • Mikel Arteta fielded a mixed lineup against Lille due to a congested schedule.

Arsenal confidently beat Lille

In a Champions League match, Arsenal defeated Lille 3:0. The goals were scored by Timber (64th minute), Eze (67th) and Saka (71st). The first half was remembered only for a disallowed goal by Japanese forward Ueda: after a shot blocked by Gabriel, he was first to the ball but was in an offside position at the moment of the shot. As Kun.uz notes, given the congested schedule, Mikel Arteta fields a mixed lineup in league-phase matches: Merino, Gyokeres and Eze played against Lille, while Odegaard, Havertz and Saka remained on the bench. In the second half, the Londoners showed the difference in class: right-back Timber charged into the box and struck powerfully into the far corner. Immediately afterwards, Arteta brought on his main attacking players: Saka assisted Eze, and then, after a move involving Odegaard and Havertz, found himself in the central striker position and sealed the final score — 3:0.

Barcelona unstoppable: four goals in Istanbul

Galatasaray lost to Barcelona 1:4. The hosts opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Batrakov in the 28th minute, but the Catalans responded with four goals: Joao Cancelo equalized in the 43rd minute, then Fermin Lopez (50th), Gordon (53rd) and Ademola (65th) completed the rout. Barcelona's lineup included H. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo, E. Garcia, Pedri, Rodri, Fermin Lopez, Yamal, Gordon and Olmo; Kounde, Bernal, Gavi, Gabriel Jesus and Ademola came on as substitutes. Galatasaray's starting lineup featured Ugurcan Cakir, Jacobs, Sanchez, Eren Elmali, Baris Yilmaz, Torreira, Lemina, Yunus Akgun, Leao, Batrakov and Osimhen. Leao (64) and Szolnoki (86) received yellow cards.

A sensational matchday

According to Kun.uz, the Champions League matchday turned out to be a day of sensations: Bayern dropped three points, and Inter — four. The outlet provides details of these matches in the headline of the piece without elaboration.