Reigning champions Real Madrid were stunned by a 1-0 defeat to Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Aston Villa triumphed 1-0 over Bayern Munich in a rematch of the 1982 European Cup final.
Liverpool’s hot streak continued under new manager Arne Slot as they secured a 2-0 win against Bologna, marking their second victory over Italian opposition this season.
Kylian Mbappe made his return from injury for Madrid in France as a second-half substitute, but it was Jonathan David who stole the spotlight, converting a penalty to hand Carlo Ancelotti’s side their first loss in 36 matches since January.
“It hasn’t been a very good night for us; we shouldn’t look for excuses,” Ancelotti said.
“We could have equalized at the end, but it wouldn’t have been deserved.”
Canada international David, who scored a hat trick in Ligue 1 at the weekend, buried his spot kick at the end of the first half after Eduardo Camavinga used his arm to block a strike from Edon Zhegrova.
Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier produced a string of late saves as the French club clung on for a famous win over the record 15-time European champions.
Villa also enjoyed a night to remember as a brilliant goal from in-form Colombian forward Jhon Duran lifted the hosts past Bayern.
Duran’s majestic lob in the 79th minute caught Manuel Neuer well out of position and earned Villa their second win in a row in the club’s first appearance in Europe’s top competition in 41 years.
Harry Kane almost snatched a last-gasp equalizer, but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled off a superb stop to deny the England captain.
“It’s unreal, to be fair. This is the loudest Villa Park I’ve heard since I joined the club, that’s for sure. It was hurting my ears at some point,” Martinez told TNT Sports.
“It’s a statement; there’s still a lot to play. We want to qualify in the top eight. It’s one step at a time.”
At Anfield, Alexis Mac Allister prodded in from close range after meeting Mohamed Salah’s cross to give Liverpool an early lead.
Dan Ndoye hit the post for Champions League debutants Bologna, but Salah made the game safe with a terrific curling effort in the final quarter of an hour.
Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win eight of his opening nine matches, surpassing even the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Kenny Dalglish, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.
“It’s hardly impossible to do something special at this club. It says a lot about how we started, how players bought into it, the effort put in,” Slot said.
Juventus won 3-2 in a thrilling encounter against RB Leipzig in Germany despite having goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio sent off for handling outside his area.
Leipzig led twice through goals from Benjamin Sesko, but Juventus replied both times through Dusan Vlahovic, his magnificent second coming just after Di Gregorio saw red on the hour.
Francisco Conceicao’s fine solo effort late on won it for Juventus, who are one of seven teams with maximum points in the new 36-team league phase.
Atletico Madrid fell to a humiliating 4-0 loss at Benfica.
The Portuguese team went ahead through Kerem Aktürkoğlu, with Angel Di Maria extending the lead from the penalty spot.
Alexander Bah headed home the third, and Orkun Kökçü completed the rout with another penalty.
Monaco rallied from two goals down on a sodden pitch to salvage a 2-2 draw away to Dinamo Zagreb.
Goals from Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina had Dinamo on course for victory, but Mohammed Salisu halved the deficit for Monaco before Denis Zakaria equalized from the spot in the final minute.
Champions League newcomers Girona slid to a second straight defeat after scoring two own goals in a 3-2 home loss to Feyenoord.
David Lopez put Girona ahead before Yangel Herrera turned into his own net, and Antoni Milambo then gave Feyenoord the lead.
Donny van de Beek equalized in the second half, but Ladislav Krejci’s own goal sank Girona as both sides also missed a penalty.
Atalanta strolled to a 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen with goals from Berat Djimsiti, Ademola Lookman, and Raoul Bellanova.
Club Brugge picked up their first points courtesy of Christos Tzolis’ goal in a 1-0 win at Sturm Graz.
France24