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Paris Saint-Germain began their defence of the UEFA Champions League title in emphatic fashion, while Barcelona, Liverpool and Arsenal also opened their campaigns with victories as Matchday 1 got underway with six fixtures on Wednesday (local time).
Defending champions PSG produced the biggest win of the night, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 as Ferran Torres marked his first Champions League appearance for the French club with a hat-trick, according to UEFA.com. Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring after Nuno Mendes struck the woodwork and later added another, before Torres took centre stage with three goals. Suleiman Camara pulled one back for Slovan, but Fabian Ruiz restored PSG's five-goal advantage to complete a comprehensive victory. Barcelona also made a strong statement at the Camp Nou, defeating Feyenoord 5-1. Raphinha scored twice for the Spanish champions, including an early opener in the third minute, while Karim Adeyemi added another in the first half. Lamine Yamal extended Barcelona's lead with a free-kick before Sem Steijn pulled one back for the visitors. Substitute Gabriel Jesus then completed the scoring by heading in a Yamal cross. Liverpool were forced to come from behind before beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield. Marcos Llorente put the visitors ahead with his fifth goal in three appearances at the stadium, but Dominik Szoboszlai equalised before half-time with a precise finish following a Ronald Araujo flick. Alexis Mac Allister then completed Liverpool's comeback after the break with a powerful strike from outside the area. Arsenal secured a narrow 1-0 victory away to Napoli, with captain Martin Odegaard producing the decisive moment in the 75th minute. After a goalless first half in which both sides created opportunities, Arsenal asserted greater control after the interval. Odegaard finished a slick team move with a shot that went in off the inside of the post to give the Premier League side all three points. Sporting CP also recovered from an early setback to defeat Galatasaray 3-1 in Lisbon. Galatasaray took the lead after five minutes when Goncalo Inacio inadvertently turned the ball into his own net. Geny Catamo restored parity before Luis Suarez converted a penalty after the break, while Rodrigo Zalazar sealed the comeback with an unstoppable free-kick. At Stuttgart, Ermedin Demirovic scored a first-half hat-trick to inspire the German side to a 3-1 win over Champions League debutants Viking. Demirovic opened the scoring after 20 minutes, but Zlatko Tripic quickly levelled for the visitors. The Stuttgart forward restored his side's lead with a strike off the underside of the bar before completing his treble with a chest control and volley shortly after the half-hour mark. The Wednesday fixtures of the new Champions League therefore produced plenty of goals, with PSG and Barcelona particularly impressive in front of their home supporters, while Liverpool and Arsenal showed their resilience to secure important opening victories. (ANI)
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