ANKARA
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were held to a 1-1 draw Wednesday with Benfica in the UEFA Champions League as the French club’s Argentine superstar Lionel Messi became the first player to score against 40 different clubs in the competition.
Messi, a former Barcelona forward, scored the opener in the 22nd minute of the Group H match in Lisbon.
The 35-year-old Argentine regular made a classy curling effort into the top corner of Benfica’s net after some teamwork with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
But Benfica leveled the match four minutes before the break. PSG’s Portuguese midfielder Danilo scored an own goal in the 41st minute, making it 1-1.
Points were shared by the teams once the final whistle was blown.
After their third matches, PSG and Benfica have seven points each to be the best two teams in the Group H standings.
Juventus have three points after a 3-1 win against Israel’s Maccabi Haifa.
Adrien Rabiot scored twice and Dusan Vlahovic netted one goal against Maccabi Haifa in Turin. Dean David was the scorer for the visitors.
Maccabi Haifa have lost all three of their matches in the Champions League to sit at the bottom of the group.
– Man City hammer Copenhagen
England’s Manchester City thrashed their Danish opponents Copenhagen 5-0 in a Group G match at home.
Man City’s Erling Haaland scored double in the first half.
The Norwegian star has so far tallied 28 Champions League goals to surpass former Brazilian forward Rivaldo and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, who is not playing in Europe anymore.
Ex-Barcelona forward Rivaldo and former Liverpool and Barcelona star Suarez each scored 27 goals in the Champions League.
Group G is led by Manchester City, as they are flawless with nine points in three games.
Borussia Dortmund are in second position with six points after the German club thrashed Sevilla 4-1 in Seville, Spain.
Sevilla and Copenhagen have one point each.
– Sevilla head coach sacked
Julen Lopetegui, Sevilla’s head coach, was fired after the team were handed a 4-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund at home.
“Sevilla FC have relieved Julen Lopetegui of his duties as first-team coach following our clash against Borussia Dortmund,” the Spanish team said in a statement.
Lopetegui, 56, coached Sevilla from 2019-2022 to win a UEFA Europa League trophy in 2020.
– Chelsea beat AC Milan
In a Group E match, England’s Chelsea beat Italian club AC Milan 3-0 in London.
French-born Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is currently playing for Chelsea, was among the scorers for the Blues.
Aubameyang, 33, scored against his ex-club in the second half of the match.
He was an AC Milan youngster, but he had loan spells with France’s Dijon, Lille, Monaco and Saint-Etienne.
Then Aubameyang played for Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona before his arrival at Stamford Bridge in September.
– Wednesday’s results:
Group E
Salzburg – Dinamo Zagreb: 1-0
Chelsea – AC Milan: 3-0
Group F
RB Leipzig – Celtic: 3-1
Real Madrid – Shakhtar Donetsk: 2-1
Group G
Manchester City – Copenhagen: 5-0
Sevilla – Borussia Dortmund: 1-4
Group H
Juventus – Maccabi Haifa: 3-1
Benfica – Paris Saint-Germain: 1-1
