Raphinha hat-trick inspires Barcelona to demolition of Bayern Munich

FC Barcelona captain Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead them to a commanding 4-1 home victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, ending a near decade-long winless run against the German powerhouses. The Brazilian winger gave Barca the lead inside the opening minute but the Catalans were pegged back by Harry Kane. A goal from Robert Lewandowski restored the home side’s lead before Raphinha completed his hat-trick.

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Arsenal edge past Shakhtar to remain unbeaten in Europe

Arsenal beat Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League thanks to an own goal by goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk as they bounced back from defeat by Bournemouth at the weekend. Gabriel Martinelli’s effort in the 29th minute bounced off the post and hit the Shakhtar keeper in the back before trickling over the line as the home side’s dominance paid off.

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Wood strikes as Forrest keep Palace winless

Dean Henderson’s mistake piled more misery on winless Crystal Palace as Chris Wood sealed victory for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. The Palace goalkeeper, in front of watching interim England manager Lee Carsley, allowed Wood’s second-half strike to squirm under his arm. Oliver Glasner’s Eagles remain in the Premier League’s bottom three, while Forest rise to eighth after their first home win of the season.

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Jones grabs winner as Liverpool down Chelsea to take top spot

Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with victory over Chelsea at Anfield as manager Arne Slot’s outstanding start continued. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead from the spot after 29 minutes, Nicolas Jackson equalised for the visitors three minutes after the restart but Liverpool took only three minutes to restore their lead through Curtis Jones who appeared at the back post to slide home the winner from a Salah cross.

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Ireland left to rue errors in loss to Greece

Ireland were left to rue a controversial early penalty decision as their dismal run against Greece continued in Piraeus. Evan Ferguson was clearly fouled by Lazarus Rota as he looked poised to punish an fourth-minute Greek blunder but there was no VAR check and their conquerors scored second half goals through Tasos Bakasetas and Petros Mantalos to stay top of the UEFA Nations League table.

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