BARCELONA PROVED THEY can win away in Europe even without the injured Lionel Messi as they posted a 2-1 comeback victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League.
Thorgan Hazard — the younger brother of Chelsea midfielder Eden — gave Gladbach a shock, yet deserved first-half lead.
But goals in the final 25 minutes, from Arda Turan and Gerard Pique, sealed Barcelona’s second Group C win after their 7-0 hammering of Celtic at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid haunted Bayern Munich once more as Yannick Carrasco inflicted Carlo Ancelotti’s first defeat as coach of the German giants with a 1-0 win at the Vicente Calderon.
The Spaniards eliminated Bayern on away goals in the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League and there was to be no revenge for the five-time European champions as Carrasco drove the ball in off the inside of the post 10 minutes before half-time.
Thomas Mueller had Bayern’s best effort, but was denied by a sensational save from Jan Oblak early on as the German champions failed to score on Spanish soil for the fourth consecutive trip.
And Atletico could even afford the luxury of missing a penalty seven minutes from time when Antoine Griezmann rattled the bar from the spot.
Victory takes Atletico top of Group D with six points from their opening two games. Bayern remain second on three points with FC Rostov and PSV Eindhoven on one each after a 2-2 draw in Russia.
Paris Saint-Germain recovered from a slow start to canter to a 3-1 win at Ludogorets Razgrad to keep pace with Arsenal at the top of Group A.
Edinson Cavani scored a brace after Blaise Matuidi had cancelled out Natanael Pimienta’s surprise opener for the Bulgarians.
But the French champions, who drew at home to Arsenal in their opening group encounter, dominated the second half and could easily have inflicted a much heavier defeat on the Bulgarian minnows, who are playing in the Champions League group stage for only the second time.
Wednesday’s Champions League results:
Group A
- Ludogorets (Natanael 16) 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain (Matuidi 41, Cavani 56, 60)
- Arsenal (Walcott 7, 26) 2-0 Basel
Group B
- Besiktas (Quaresma 29) 1-1 Dynamo Kiev (Tsygankov 65)
- Napoli (Hamsik 20, Mertens 51, 58, Milik 54-pen) 4-2 Benfica (Goncalo Guedes 70, Salvio 86)
Group C
- Borussia Moenchengladbach (Hazard 34) 1-2 Barcelona (Arda Turan 65, Pique 74)
- Celtic (Dembele 3, 47, Sterling 20-og) 3-3 Manchester City (Fernandinho 12, Sterling 28, Nolito 55)
Group D
- Atletico Madrid (Carrasco 35) 1-0 Bayern Munich
- Rostov (Poloz 8, 37) 2-0 PSV Eimdhoven (Proepper 14, De Jong 45+2)
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