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Champions League round-up: Liverpool joy, Lionel Messi record, Jadon Sancho history

Jadon Sancho in action for Borussia Dortmund against Club Bruges
Image: Jadon Sancho in action for Borussia Dortmund against Club Bruges

Lionel Messi and Roberto Firmino starred in the opening round of Champions League group games, while Jadon Sancho made history.

Messi scored the eighth Champions League hat-trick of his career - surpassing great rival Cristiano Ronaldo's seven trebles in the competition - as Barcelona recovered from a disappointing start to thrash PSV 4-0 in Group
B.

He opened the scoring with a superb 31st-minute free-kick and struck twice in the second half (77, 87), with Ousmane Dembele also on the scoresheet on a night only blotted by Samuel Umtiti's 78th-minute dismissal.

Lionel Messi during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between FC Barcelona and PSV at Camp Nou on September 18, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain.
Image: Lionel Messi scored another Champions League hat-trick

Sancho entered the record books himself, becoming the youngest English player to make his Champions League debut for a foreign club.

He was also the seventh Englishman to make his debut for a non-British club, after Brian Deane (Benfica), Michael Thomas (Benfica), Scott Minto (Benfica), Steve McManaman (Real Madrid), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich) and Matt Derbyshire (Olympiakos), according to Opta.

The former Manchester City teenager started for Borussia Dortmund against Club Bruges but it was his second-half replacement, Christian Pulisic, who struck to seal a 1-0 win.

Tottenham suffered three successive defeats for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino as Inter Milan completed a dramatic late fightback in the early kick-off.

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Christian Eriksen's deflected strike gave Spurs a 53rd-minute lead at the San Siro but Mauro Icardi hammered a brilliant volley in the 86th minute to draw Inter level and Matias Vecino took advantage of slack defending to head in an injury-time winner.

Image: Tottenham were undone by Inter's late double

There was late joy for Liverpool, however, as substitute Roberto Firmino snatched a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield.

Jurgen's Klopp's men eased into a 2-0 lead through a Daniel Sturridge header - on his first start in the competition - and a James Milner penalty.

Thomas Meunier pulled one back for PSG by the break and Kylian Mbappe equalised in the 83rd minute before Firmino, who was not considered ready to start after suffering an eye injury at the weekend, stepped up to give his side the points in the second minute of added time.

Roberto Firmino celebrates after his stoppage-time goal secures victory for Liverpool against PSG
Image: Roberto Firmino celebrates after his stoppage-time goal secures victory for Liverpool against PSG

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 in Monaco, after Samuel Grandsir had given Leonardo Jardim's Ligue 1 strugglers an 18th-minute lead.

Diego Costa equalised for the visitors on the half-hour and Jose Gimenez netted what turned out to be the winning goal in injury time at the end of the first half.

Goals from Garry Rodrigues, Eren Derdiyok and Selcuk Inan helped Galatasaray to a comfortable 3-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow in Istanbul, despite the late sending-off of midfielder Badou N'Diaye.

Schalke and Porto drew 1-1 with goals from Breel Embolo and an Otavio penalty respectively, while Red Star Belgrade versus Napoli ended goalless.

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