As the Champions League group stage crosses its halfway point, all four English clubs in the competition sit top of their respective groups and are poised to qualify for the round of 16.
Despite putting in two impressive displays against Group H rivals RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United fell to defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir in a 2-1 loss.
Former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba gave the hosts the lead when he slotted past United goalkeeper Dean Henderson. It was terrible defending from the visitors with captain Harry Maguire and Co allowing the 35-year-old to run through unchallenged from his own half to score.
Edin Visca netted the second minutes before Anthony Martial headed pulled one back for United before half-time. However, despite losing to the Turkish champions United stay top of the group on goal difference.
Elsewhere in Group H, RB Leipzig also beat nine-man PSG 2-1 after coming from a goal down.
Angel di Maria opened the scoring, but Christopher Nkunku and Emile Forsberg netted either side of half-time to secure victory for the German side.
Idrissa Gueye and Presnel Kimpembe both saw red late in the second half.
In Group D, Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0 with goals from attacking trio Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Jota bagged a hat-trick, becoming just the fifth ever Liverpool player to score three goals in a Champions League game, as the Reds maintained their 100 per cent record in Europe.
In Denmark, two early Ajax goals from Antony and Dusan Tadic saw them defeat FC Midtjylland 2-1.
The Dutch side moved into second spot following the win, helped greatly by Atalanta’s goal difference significantly decreasing.
Manchester City also kept up their flawless record in the Champions League this season, again winning 3-0.
A third goal in as many games from Ferran Torres was followed up by Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo both scoring as City swept aside Olympiacos.
The win means they have taken nine out of nine points in Europe this season, sitting top of Group C having only conceded one goal.
The other match in Group C saw Porto defeat Marseille 3-0, with goals from Moussa Marega, Sergio Oliveira, and Luis Diaz.
Victory means that Porto go into second place, whilst Marseille are bottom of the group having not picked up a single point.
Chelsea also won 3-0 on Wednesday, dispatching 10-man Rennes to hold on to top spot in Group E.
Two penalties from Timo Werner were added to by Tammy Abraham as the French side were defeated.
Sevilla also won in Group E, snatching victory from FC Krasnodar despite trailing 2-0 for 40 minutes.
Super-sub Youssef En-Nesyri scored a brace late in the second half, following on from Ivan Rakitic’s goal at the end of the first period.
The game ended 3-2, even after the Spaniards were reduced to 10 men following Jesus Navas’ dismissal, and Sevilla are now second to Chelsea only by goal difference.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo made his return to the big stage in his first European game of the season as Juventus beat Hungarian side Ferencvaros 4-1.
Alvaro Morata scored a brace to make up for his hat-trick of offside goals last week, while Paulo Dybala scored his first Champions League goal of the season.
Lasha Dvali also scored an own goal, however Frank Boli got his second in Europe this season with a 90th-minute consolation.
Barcelona won the other game in Group G, beating Dynamo Kiev 2-1.
Goals from veterans Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique proved too much for the Ukrainian side, despite Viktor Tshyankov’s consolation goal late in the match.
The win means Barcelona are top of the group with a 100 per cent record, while Juventus take second spot.
In Group A, Bayern Munich defeated Austrian side RB Salzburg as a late flurry of goals saw them come out 6-2 victors.
A Mergim Berisha goal saw Bayern go behind for the first time in the Champions League under manager Hans-Dieter Flick, however this was quickly rectified by Robert Lewandowski.
Rasmus Kristensen then scored an own goal, but Masaya Okugawa equalised for Salzburg with just 25 minutes remaining in the game.
The current Champions League holders answered back in swift fashion, as Lewandowski scored his second from the penalty spot to secure victory along with goals from Jerome Boateng, Leroy Sane and Lucas Hernandez.
Also, in Group A, Atletico Madrid could only muster a 1-1 draw against Lokomotiv Moscow.
Jose Gimenez’s early goal was cancelled out by an Anton Miranchuk penalty which means that the Spanish side are just two points clear of Moscow in second spot.
In Group B, Real Madrid picked up their first European win of the season after beating Inter Milan 3-2.
Sergio Ramos scored his 100th goal for the Spanish champions along with goals from Karim Benzema and a late winner by Rodyrgo.
Inter came back into the game at 2-2 thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Ivan Perisic, but defeat leaves them bottom of the group.
Borussia Monchengladbach top the group after thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0, with Alassane Plea scoring a hat-trick.
His trio of goals was added to by Rami Bansebaini, Lars Stindl and an own goal from Valeriy Bodnar.
Finally, in Group F Borussia Dortmund beat Club Brugge 3-0 with goals from Thorgan Hazard and an Erling Haaland brace.
They top the group after Lazio scraped a 1-1 draw against Zenit St. Petersburg.
By Alistair Pollock
