Champions League: Arsenal rebounds, Aston Villa keeps rolling, Real Madrid’s magic strikes again

UEFA Champions League

Published Oct. 22, 2024 5:50 p.m. ET

In a rematch of last year’s UEFA Champions League final, trophy holders Real Madrid roared back from a two-goal deficit at Estadio Santiago Bernabeau in the Spanish capital to stun German titan Borussia Dortmund with five consecutive second-half strikes and secure an emphatic 5-2 win.

Three of Real’s five goals came via Vini Jr. The Brazilian superstar completed his hat trick in stoppage time following an audacious solo run:

While the marquee contest of Matchday 3 more than lived up to the hype, most of the eight other games played on Tuesday didn’t disappoint, either.

Here are three quick takeaways.

First place Aston Villa stays perfect

Back in the planet’s premier club competition for the first time in more than four decades, the Villans are making the most of the opportunity. After topping Italian side Bologna in Birmingham on Tuesday on second half goals by John McGinn Jhon Durán, the 1982 European champs are off to a perfect 3-0 in continental play.

Sitting all alone atop the Champions League table is a dream scenario for a club that spent 2016-19 in England’s second-tier Championship division. But it’s also one they earned under Spanish manager Unai Emery, who has been a revelation for a club long considered a sleeping giant domestically.

There’s lots of season left, of course. Emery’s side has been fortunate to play two of its three matches at Villa Park, with its away match at humble Swiss outfit Young Boys. Next month’s trip to Brugge and another home date, against Juventus, won’t be easy. But after following its famous Oct. 2 triumph over mighty Bayern Munich with another three points, long-suffering claret and blue fans surely fancy their Unai Emery,

Christian Pulisic’s ‘Olimpico’ goal helps AC Milan snare its first victory

The U.S. men’s national team star’s otherworldly form continued on Tuesday with an otherworldly goal.

Pulisic, the Rossoneri’s leading scorer both in Serie A and across all competitions this season, notched his 10th career Champions League goal directly from a corner kick in Milan’s 3-0 victory over Club Brugge.

The visitors’ defending on the play was far from stellar. Hugely experienced onetime Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet probably believes he should’ve saved it. But when you’re hot you’re hot, and Pulisic will gladly take it — not least because it gave the seven-time Champions League winners their first three points after opening the 2024-25 campaign with a pair of defeats.

Arsenal wins, Juventus loses, Paris Saint-Germain ties

Before Tuesday’s game in London against Shakhtar Donetsk, Gunners players and manager Mikel Arteta were facing an unusual amount of pressure. Arsenal, the Premier League’s runners-up in each of the last two seasons — were stunned by Prem minnow Bournemouth last weekend, and were expected to rebound in a big way.

The 1-0 win on a first half own goal might not have eased the worries of diehards, but it did keep the Gunners undefeated in Champions League play even as it snapped their perfect record.

Juventus supporters had no such silver lining in Turin, as Italy’s most successful team suffered a shocking injury-time loss to Germany’s Stuttgart. Substitute El Bilal Touré scored the winner about eight minutes after Juve was reduced to 10 men by defender Danio’s second yellow card of the night.

Finally, in France, Paris Saint-Germain and Dutch champs PSV Eindhoven claimed a share of the spoils at Parc des Princes in a 1-1 draw — one that surely felt like a loss for the hosts. USMNT midfielder Malik Tillman started the match for PSV, while fullback Richie Ledezma came off the bench.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.