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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defeated Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in their UEFA Champions League league-phase match on Thursday (local time), recovering from a second-half fightback by the hosts to secure the victory.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid staged a dramatic late comeback to beat AS Roma 4-3, scoring three goals in the final seven minutes. PSG made a strong start, with Desire Doue opening the scoring in the 13th minute before setting up Ousmane Dembele for the second goal two minutes later. Vitinha extended PSG's lead in the 32nd minute, finishing off a move created by Warren Zaire-Emery to put the visitors 3-0 ahead. Manchester City responded after the break, with Erling Haaland scoring in the 53rd minute to reduce the deficit. However, Maghnes Akliouche restored PSG's three-goal advantage in the 63rd minute with a long-range effort. Haaland scored again in the 75th minute to make it 4-2, giving City hope of a comeback. The hosts pushed forward in the closing stages but could not find another goal, as PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov made important saves. With the win, Paris Saint-Germain sit atop the UEFA Champions League points table with six points from two matches, followed by Barcelona in second place and Aston Villa in third. A total of nine teams have won both their opening matches. With his two goals, Haaland, at 26 years and 85 days old, became the youngest player to score 60 goals in the Champions League, breaking Lionel Messis previous record by one day. Elsewhere at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Real Madrid staged a dramatic late comeback to defeat Roma 4-3 in their Champions League match on Thursday (local time), scoring three goals in the final seven minutes after trailing 3-1. Kylian Mbappe equalised for Real Madrid in the 25th minute after Roma had taken the lead through Marten de Roon in the 20th minute. Roma moved ahead after the break as Donyell Malen scored twice in the 51st and 57th minutes, putting the hosts in a commanding position. Real Madrid responded late in the match, with Carlos Espi reducing the deficit in the 82nd minute. Endrick then scored three minutes later to bring the Spanish side level at 3-3. Antonio Rudiger completed the thrilling comeback in the 90th minute, converting a set-piece delivery from Arda Guler to give Real Madrid a 4-3 victory. With the win, Real Madrid moved to eighth place in the points table with six points from two matches, joining eight other teams with the same points tally. (ANI)
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