Champions League: PSG beats Barcelona in thriller; Liverpool completes comeback against Villareal

Paris Saint-Germain was too powerful for even Lamine Yamal’s magic, ending Barcelona’s 11-game winning run to top the Champions League table.

A thrilling end to the game, with four goals in the last 20 minutes, delivered a statement win for PSG, joining Liverpool as the only teams with three victories after Alexis Mac Allister led a rousing 4-3 comeback triumph over Villarreal on Tuesday (October 20, 2026).

Yamal had just displayed stunning skill to level the score at 2-2 from a narrow angle when PSG took the lead again through Vitinha, before Fabian Ruiz added another for a 4-2 victory.

“We never feel like we’re powerless, or that we’re beaten in any way,” PSG forward Désiré Doué said. “We always know there’s an opportunity as long as the final whistle hasn’t gone,”

Injuries to stars Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took some of the shine off the win for PSG, which could now face having to cope without two of its biggest difference-makers in attack.

Barcelona needs to bounce back quickly ahead of a Clasico against Real Madrid on Sunday, now that its run of wins to start the season has ended. Defending champion PSG equalled a club record by going 13 Champions League games unbeaten.

Doué and Lucas Hernandez also scored for PSG. Xavi Espart struck Barcelona’s other goal.

“We made too many mistakes in this game, with the ball possession, easy ball losses,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “This was a great test for us, you saw today in which areas we have to improve to make things better.”

Flick added Rodri would play Sunday against Madrid after coming off the bench for the last half-hour.

The game took place with a visible police presence outside, against the backdrop of violent unrest across France.

What began in France as protests against school conditions has expanded to include a wide range of other groups and causes. There have been violent clashes, fires and looting.

Mac Allister and Ngumoha turn it around for Liverpool

Eighteen-year-old Rio Ngumoha played a starring role in Liverpool’s comeback, setting up goals for Ronald Araujo, Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz.

Liverpool had been 2-0 down after an erratic start, which included captain Virgil van Dijk holding up his hands in apology after his wayward header allowed Georges Mikautadze to score the opener for Villarreal.

Manchester City bounced back from defeat to PSG with a slick 5-1 win against AEK Athens, with top scorer Erling Haaland on the bench. Phil Foden scored a hat trick, with his second goal the pick of the bunch coming at the end of a sweeping attack.

Atletico Madrid held on with 10 men for a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart, foiling the German underdog’s bid to join PSG and Liverpool on nine points.

Julian Alvarez’s goal for Atletico had canceled out Jamie Leweling’s opener when midfielder Morten Hjulman made a reckless sliding tackle from behind on Angelo Stiller to leave Atletico clinging on.

McTominay scores two in Napoli win

Scott McTominay scored his first two goals of the season to help Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 and relieve pressure on coach Massimiliano Allegri.

McTominay, who also hit the post, missed a month of the season after undergoing a surgical procedure in early September to treat an irregular heartbeat.

Serhou Guirassy scored twice but Borussia Dortmund wasted plenty more chances in a 2-1 win over Azerbaijan’s Sabah.

It wasn’t the sort of convincing victory the German team was hoping for, after last week saw a loss to Bodø/Glimt before a draw at Union Berlin which allowed Bayern Munich to take the Bundesliga top spot off Dortmund.

Pavel Kacor’s leaping volley in the 90th minute earned Slavia Prague a 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce, which had been leading 2-0 early on before a defensive blunder by Mattéo Guendouzi let the Czech side back into the game.

PSV won 1-0 against Porto, which slumped to a third loss. Roma cruised to a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.