Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League came to a close Wednesday with seven of eight teams picking up victories.
In the marquee matchup of the day, Inter Milan downed Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at the San Siro with the Serie A outfit scoring in each half. It took Inter 22 minutes to break the deadlock in front of their home supporters as Lautaro Martinez beat Roman Burki with a clever poked finish.
Video review was used to check if the Argentine was offsides, but the goal would stand giving Inter a 1-0 advantage. Despite missing a second-half penalty kick, Inter would ice the home win in the final moments of the match. Antonio Candreva slotted home in the 89th minute after a superb counter-attack against the Bundesliga opponents.
Inter sit second in the group while Dortmund are third.
Slavia Praha 1 – Barcelona 2
Group F leaders Barcelona claimed a road win in Prague on Wednesday, downing Czech hosts Slavia Praha 2-1.
Lionel Messi opened his goalscoring account in this year’s edition of the tournament, slotting home after Barcelona pounced on sloppy possession from the hosts. Arthur played a pass to Messi before the Argentinian star finished the job in the third minute.
Jan Borli would level the score in the 50th minute after beating German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Lukas Masopust registered the assist on the goal, allowing Borli to open the second-half in style.
Barcelona received a bit of luck later in the half as a Peter Olayinka own goal gave them a 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Luis Suarez and Messi each had good chances to add to Barcelona’s lead, but the final scoreline would stand at 2-1 to Ernesto Valverde’s men.
Salzburg 2 – Napoli 3
Jesse Marsch’s Red Bull Salzburg could not pick up a positive result in Naples on Wednesday, falling to Napoli 3-2.
Dries Mertens scored a pair of goals, while Lorenzo Insigne’s game-winner sealed the road win in Austria. Erling Haaland broke the deadlock in the eighth minute, but video review ruled in favor of Napoli as the striker was offsides on the play.
Mertens wasted no time in scoring his first goal of the night, beating Salzburg keeper Cican Stankovic from a tight angle in the 17th minute.
Kevin Malcuit helped Salzburg get back into the match before halftime though as he brought down Hee-Chan Hwang in the 39th minute. Haaland leveled the scoreline at 1-1 heading into halftime, giving Salzburg confidence after being denied earlier in the half.
Mertens swung the lead back in Napoli’s favor in the 64th minute after Malcuit picked out the Belgian forward. However, a familiar face would hit back for Salzburg in the 72nd minute. Haaland was left unmarked eight minutes and made Napoli pay with a header past Alex Meret.
Napoli wasted zero time retaining the lead for good as Mertens assisted on Insigne’s composed finish a minute later. The Italian’s low strike rattled the goal as Napoli ran away with an important three points on the road.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side sit top of the group with the win while Salzburg are in third.
Here’s all of Wednesday’s UCL results:
Genk 1 – Liverpool 4
Red Bull Salzburg 2 – Napoli 3
Inter Milan 2 – Borussia Dortmund 0
Slavia Praha 1 – Barcelona 2
RB Leipzig 2 – Zenit St. Petersburg 1
Benfica 2 – Lyon 1
Ajax 0 – Chelsea 1
Lille 1 – Valencia 1