SUBSTITUTE ANGEL CORREA scored a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game as Atletico Madrid snatched a 2-1 victory away to PSG, kickstarting their campaign and casting a large cloud over the French club’s European hopes.
It looked as if the game at the Parc des Princes would end in a draw after Warren Zaire-Emery’s early opener for PSG was quickly cancelled out by Nahuel Molina in what was the first ever meeting of the clubs.
PSG have been let down by their finishing in the Champions League all season and that was the case again here as they failed to convert a host of chances, but Atletico did not look like winning it until Correa struck in the 93rd minute.
The evening was also notable for the pre-match unfurling by PSG fans at one end of the stadium of an enormous banner in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
“War on the pitch but peace in the world,” said the banner, which also featured a Lebanese flag.
That may lead to disciplinary action from UEFA, but that will probably be the least of PSG’s worries right now.
They may be comfortably on top of Ligue 1 but in the Champions League last season’s semi-finalists have just four points, despite playing three of their four games so far at home.
Elsewhere, in Belgrade, Robert Lewandowski scored twice as in-form Barcelona thrashed Red Star Belgrade 5-2 to stay in the upper echelons of the Champions League group table.
The veteran striker climbed to 99 career goals in the competition, while Inigo Martinez, Raphinha and Fermin Lopez also netted as Barcelona won comfortably in Serbia.
After thrashing Bayern Munich 4-1 in their prior European outing, Hansi Flick’s side followed that up with a seventh straight victory across all competitions.
In that winning run Barcelona have scored at least three times in each game and were similarly lethal at the Rajko Mitic stadium.
Meanwhile, a 67-minute Jamal Musiala goal got Bayern Munich back on track with a 1-0 home win over Benfica.
Struggling in Europe after back-to-back losses left them outside the knockout places, Musiala broke through the stubborn Benfica defence, heading in a Harry Kane assist.
Bayern were dominant in possession but carved out few clear cut chances, lacking fluency in front of a silent home crowd who refused to sing out of respect for a hospitalised fan.
Despite the win, Bayern still have work to do in Europe, with this season’s Champions League final on home soil.
The German giants sit 17th, one behind Dinamo Zagreb who they beat 9-2 in their opener. Bayern face French champions Paris Saint-Germain next in the competition.
Full Uefa Champions League results on Wednesday:
Club Brugge (BEL) 1 (Vanaken 52-pen) Aston Villa (ENG) 0
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 2 (Zubkov 31, Sudakov 41) Young Boys (SUI) 1 (Imeri 27)
Bayern Munich (GER) 1 (Musiala 67) Benfica (POR) 0
Feyenoord (NED) 1 (Hadj Moussa 81) Salzburg (AUT) 3 (Konate 45+2, 58, Guindo 86)
Inter Milan (ITA) 1 (Calhanoglu 45+3-pen) Arsenal (ENG) 0
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 1 (Zaire-Emery 14) Atletico Madrid (ESP) 2 (Molina 18, Correa 90+3)
Red Star Belgrade (SRB) 2 (Silas 27, Milson 84) Barcelona (ESP) 5 (Martinez 13, Lewandowski 43, 53, Raphinha 55, Lopez 76)
Sparta Prague (CZE) 1 (Olatunji 90+2) Brest (FRA) 2 (Fernandes 37, Kairinen 80-og)
Stuttgart (GER) 0 Atalanta (ITA) 2 (Lookman 51, Zaniolo 88)
A “War on the pitch but peace in the world” banner may lead to retributions yet Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Middle East still allowed to play in European football tells you all you need to know about EUFA and where their loyalties lie
@baz: An “I Support Terrorism” banner.
Good on the PSG fans. Israel needs to be ostracised in every sense until such time as their regime is changed and tried in The Hague
The people of Israel and their ancestors have been terrorised for hundreds of years.
@Mick Joe: What has that got to do with the genocide that is happening in Gaza at the moment?
@Mick Joe: shame the nazis didn’t wipe them out for good.