Real Madrid reignited their Champions League title defense with a crucial 3-2 victory over Atalanta on Tuesday, thanks to star performances from Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.
However, the Spanish giants had to weather a nervous final stretch, with Mateo Retegui spurning a golden opportunity in stoppage time to equalize for Atalanta.
The win marks Madrid's third of the revamped league phase and leaves them in 18th place, still outside the top eight spots that guarantee direct qualification to the round of 16.
But coach Carlo Ancelotti was quick to highlight the significance of the victory.
"It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins here. We suffered and competed.
In the Champions League, you have to suffer," said Ancelotti. "It’s still difficult to finish in the top eight, but we have two games left to earn points.”
The result keeps Madrid in the hunt, but the competition remains fierce. Liverpool, maintaining a perfect record, leads the pack after a 1-0 win over Girona, while Paris Saint-Germain revived their campaign with a 3-0 win over Salzburg, jumping into the playoff spots.
Madrid, under pressure after three losses in their opening five matches, needed a big performance from their stars, and Mbappe delivered early.
The French forward opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a clinical finish – his 50th Champions League goal.
Only Lionel Messi has reached that milestone at a younger age.
However, Mbappe’s night was cut short when he limped off before halftime with an apparent injury.
Despite the setback, Madrid maintained their advantage with two quick goals early in the second half.
Vinicius Junior netted in the 56th minute, followed by Bellingham’s strike just three minutes later to make it 3-1.
Atalanta responded through Ademola Lookman’s goal in the 65th minute, but Madrid hung on, surviving Retegui’s late miss to secure the win.
Mohamed Salah’s 50th Champions League goal helped Liverpool extend their perfect run in Europe with a narrow 1-0 win over Girona.
The Egyptian’s penalty in the 63rd minute was enough to seal all three points for the Reds, but coach Arne Slot wasn’t entirely pleased with his team’s performance.
"If you ask me about all the six games, I’m really pleased with all the results. I am really pleased with the five (other) games with the way we played. I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” Slot said, noting goalkeeper Alisson’s crucial saves that helped preserve the win.
Liverpool remains at the top of the 36-team league, but Slot’s side will need to improve ahead of their remaining games against Lille and PSV Eindhoven.
Paris Saint-Germain has finally found their rhythm after a disappointing start to the league phase.
After earning just four points from their first five games, PSG picked up a vital 3-0 victory against Salzburg. Goals from Goncalo Ramos, Nuno Mendes, and Desire Doue lifted the French side into the playoff positions.
Bayer Leverkusen continued their strong run with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, securing their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Nordi Mukiele scored a dramatic 90th-minute goal to seal the win and move Leverkusen into second place, just five points behind Liverpool.
Aston Villa’s 3-2 win over Leipzig marked their third consecutive victory, while Brest, on their Champions League debut, stunned PSV Eindhoven 1-0 to sit in fifth. Both teams are tied on 13 points, alongside Inter Milan.
In other notable matches, Bayern Munich routed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 to claim a spot in the automatic qualifying positions for the round of 16, and Dinamo Zagreb held Celtic to a 0-0 draw, keeping both teams in playoff contention.
