Jesse Marsch made UEFA Champions League history on Tuesday, becoming the first American to manage and win in the historic tournament.
Marsch remained perfect as RB Salzburg manager as his side trounced Belgian outfit Genk 6-2 at home. Erling Braut Haland scored a hat trick in the Matchday 1 win, while three other players got on the scoresheet.
The hosts raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 36 minutes. Haland scored a pair of those goals, while Hee-Chan Hwang also scored in the 36th minute, getting on the end of a through ball and making no mistake to add to Salzburg’s lead.
Jhon Lucumi pulled a goal back in the 40th minute for Genk, but it would not lead to any comeback.
Haland capped his hat trick in the 45th minute, before Dominik Szoboszlai got in on the action before halftime.
Mbwana Samata added a consolation goal after the interval for Genk, ahead of Andreas Ulmer’s low effort in the 66th minute.
Salzburg sit atop Group F on goal difference as Marsch is now 8-0-0 in all competitions with the Austrian giants.
Napoli 2 – Liverpool 0
Napoli also earned a full three points on Tuesday, downing defending UCL winners Liverpool 2-0 at the Stadio San Paolo.
The hosts came closest in the opening half to break the deadlock, forcing Reds keeper Adrian to come up with a double save in the seventh minute. The Spaniard denied Allan Ruiz twice on the play, before Hirving Lozano’s finish was waved off for offsides.
Sadio Mane was denied in the 22nd minute, which was Liverpool’s best effort in the opening 45 minutes.
Adrian was called into action early in the second-half, saving Dries Mertens’ close-range effort.
Mertens broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute, scoring from the penalty spot after Jose Callejon was fouled by Andrew Robertson.
Napoli iced the win in stoppage time as substitute Fernando Llorente took advantage of a bad back pass from Virgil van Dijk to slot in his first goal of the tournament.
Liverpool return to league play this weekend against Chelsea while Napoli travels to Lecce.
Borussia Dortmund 0 – Barcelona 0
The top two sides in Group F squared off at Signal Iduna Park with both sides walking away with a point.
Borussia Dortmund had the better of the offensive chances against Barcelona, but was unable to beat Marc Andre ter Stegen who made four saves in the clean sheet.
The German’s first huge moment came in the 25th minute, as he made himself big to deny Marco Reus’ shot from close-range.
Luis Suarez recorded Barcelona’s only shot on goal in the 48th minute, but was unable to beat Roman Burki from close-range.
ter Stegen’s biggest moment came in the 57th minute as his denied Reus from the penalty spot. Jadon Sancho was fouled by — , but ter Stegen got a hand to his international teammate’s effort.
Julian Brandt rattled the crossbar in the 77th minute, an effort which looked to have ter Stegen beaten.
The sides had to settle for a point apiece in the draw.
Ajax 3 – Lille 0
Ajax sits atop Group H after a convincing 3-0 home win over Ligue 1 side Lille on Tuesday.
American defender Sergino Dest made his group stage debut for the Dutch outfit, playing the full 90 minutes at right back. Quincy Promes, Edson Alvarez, and Nicolas Tagliafico all got on the scoresheet for Ajax.
Promes’ opener came in the 18th minute, as the Dutch international got on the end of Tagliafico’s cross at the far post.
After help in the build-up play for the opening goal, David Neres set up Alvarez with a good look in the 50th minute. The Mexican defender slotted home from a tight angle to double the hosts advantage.
Tagliafico headed in his first goal of the tournament in the 62nd minute, getting on the end of Hakim Ziyech’s cross.
Both teams return to league play this weekend.
Here’s a full scoreboard of Tuesday’s action:
Napoli 2 – Liverpool 0
RB Salzburg 6 – Genk 2
Inter Milan 1 – Slavia Praha 1
Borussia Dortmund 0 – Barcelona 0
Chelsea 0 – Valencia 1
Ajax 3 – Lille 0
Lyon 1 – Zenit St. Petersburg 1
Benfica 1 – RB Leipzig 2