▲ Ferran Torres celebrates after scoring a hat-trick
Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) kicked off its quest for a third consecutive title by routing Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) in the opening match of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) league phase.
PSG secured a dominant 6-1 victory against Bratislava in the first match of the 2026-2027 UCL league phase held at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, fueled by a hat-trick from Ferran Torres and two goals and two assists from Ousmane Dembele.
PSG, which won consecutive UCL titles in the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, had raised concerns after starting the domestic league season with two draws and one loss, but boosted its confidence with a powerful display of firepower in its opening European match.
The opening goal came from Dembele, who won the Ballon d'Or last year.
In the 17th minute of the first half, after Nuno Mendes' shot hit the goalpost and bounced out, Dembele collected the ball on the left side of the penalty area and scored with a left-footed shot. He quickly added a multi-goal performance by heading in another goal in the 23rd minute of the first half.
Dembele then turned into a provider for Torres.
In the 31st minute of the first half, Torres found the back of the net after receiving a cross from Dembele on the right flank, wrapping up the first half with a 3-0 lead.
PSG's attacking momentum did not slow down in the second half.
Just two minutes into the second half, Torres scored again, and in the 12th minute, after receiving a right-wing corner kick from Dembele, Torres completed his hat-trick with a right-footed shot from the center of the penalty area, extending the lead to 5-0.
All five goals came from the boots of Torres (3 goals) and Dembele (2 goals, 2 assists).
Although PSG conceded a consolation goal to Bratislava's Souleymane Kamara in the 13th minute of the second half, Fabian Ruiz added a goal in the 42nd minute of the second half to put the finishing touch on the 6-1 victory.
Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona also made a strong start by defeating Feyenoord (Netherlands) 5-1.
Hosting Feyenoord at its home stadium, Camp Nou, Barcelona got off to a flying start with Raphinha's opening goal just three minutes into the first half, followed by a long-range strike from Karim Adeyemi in the 22nd minute.
Ending the first half 2-0, Barcelona extended its lead to four goals as Raphinha scored his second of the match in the 12th minute of the second half, followed by a free-kick goal from young prodigy Lamine Yamal in the 32nd minute.
Barcelona conceded a goal in the 37th minute of the second half, but Gabriel Jesus secured the 5-1 victory with a header in the 40th minute.
Meanwhile, Arsenal (England) claimed a 1-0 victory over Napoli (Italy) thanks to a winning goal by Martin Odegaard in the 30th minute of the second half, and Stuttgart (Germany) also celebrated its first win by defeating Viking FK (Norway) 3-1.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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