Marcus Rashford lit up his Champions League debut for Barcelona with a brilliant brace that condemned Newcastle United to a 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park. On loan from Manchester United, Rashford broke the deadlock with a precise header from Jules Kounde’s cross before smashing in a spectacular 20-yard strike off the crossbar nine minutes later.
They were his first goals in the competition in almost four years, witnessed by England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
At the Etihad Stadium, Erling Haaland wrote another chapter in Champions League history by becoming the fastest player to score 50 goals in the competition, reaching the milestone in just 49 games. His second-half header set Manchester City on course for a 2-0 victory over Napoli.
The game also saw Kevin De Bruyne’s emotional return to Manchester, though his night was cut short when Napoli boss Antonio Conte sacrificed him following Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s red card.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen were rescued by a stoppage-time own goal from Pantelis Hatzidiakos as they drew 2-2 away to Copenhagen.
hile Eintracht Frankfurt delivered a ruthless display, scoring four goals in 29 minutes to thrash Galatasaray 5-1. New signing Leroy Sane made history in the process, becoming the first player to score or assist on debut for four different Champions League clubs.
In Portugal, Sporting Lisbon eased to a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, sealing the result with three goals in a blistering four-minute spell after the break.
In France Captain Hans Vanaken led from the front as Club Brugge recorded a 4-1 thumping of Monaco at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Thursday to underline their potential for a good run in the competition this season.
Vanaken scored one goal and laid on another as the home side were superb in attack with Nicolo Tresoldi, Raphael Onyedika and 19-year-old Mamadou Diakhon also on target. Ansu Fati netted a late consolation for the visitors.
Despite enduring the longest journey ever recorded between two clubs in Champions League history, the visitors were no match for Sporting’s dominance.
