Matchday 7 UEFA Champions League: Barcelona wins a goal-fest, Liverpool and Atletico take close wins

This weekend marked the resumption of the UEFA Champions League, featuring a crucial round of matches. We saw top teams such as Liverpool and Barcelona facing off against mid-table competitors like Benfica, Lille, and Atletico Madrid.

Each team was eager to secure their place among the top eight in the newly revamped Champions League format, making for an exciting competition.

Barcelona won a goal-fest against Benfica 

The first of the important fixtures saw Barcelona and Benfica clash against each other. 

With Lamine Yamal and Raphinha delivering standout performances this season, Barcelona boasted an abundance of offensive firepower heading into this matchup.

The hosts stunned the Spanish giants right after kick-off as they took the lead in the 2nd minute. Benfica striker Pavlidis put on a show as he completed his hat-trick in mere 30 minutes. He scored in the 2nd, 22nd and 30th minutes. Two of those three goals were the result of sloppy and below-par goalkeeping from Barcelona's goalkeeper Szczesny. Lewandowski did get one back goal in the 13th minute for Barcelona but it didn't yield much return.

Barcelona's captain scored one of the most bizarre goals of his career, cutting the deficit to just one in the 64th minute. However, moments later, Barcelona surrendered their momentum with an own goal from Araujo. 

Robert Lewandowski was tackled down inside Benfica's box in the 78th minute and the Polish striker slotted home his second penalty of the fixture. Substitute Eric Garcia headed home Barcelona's equaliser in the 88th minute off a delicious cross from Pedri. Barçelona's skipper rose up to the occasion as he slotted home the winner in the dying minutes of injury time. Barcelona won 4-5 against Benfica.

Liverpool emerged victorious at Anfield 

The second match saw the Reds face French club Lillie at Anfield.  

Liverpool opened the scoring through a quick counterattack as their veteran Mo Salah found the net in the 34th minute. The Reds held onto their lead in the first half. In the second half, Lillie drew level with the Reds as Jonathan David took advantage of a rebound and thundered it past the goalkeeper. The Reds, however, restored their lead in the 67th minute through Elliot as Lillie was reduced to 10 men following the booking of Mandi in the 59th minute. Liverpool emerged victorious 2-1. 

Atletico and Leverkusen played a violent draw

In another gripping Champions League encounter, Atletico Madrid faced off against Bayern Leverkusen. The match was marked by aggressive and violent play, leading to both teams finishing with 10 men as players continuously went for fierce tackles. Ultimately, the game concluded with a 2-1 with Julian Alvarez scoring double to seize Atletico's victory.