Plus: Bayern Munich inspired by substitute Thomas Muller as they come from behind to beat Danish side Copenhagen to go top of Group A as Man Utd drop to bottom after defeat to Galatasaray; Bellingham has eight goals and three assists in nine games for Real Madrid, who top Group C
Tuesday 3 October 2023 23:57, UK
Jude Bellingham scored and set up another as Real Madrid beat Napoli 3-2 in the Champions League group stages on Tuesday.
The Madrid midfielder intercepted a pass from Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo before setting up Vinicius Junior for an equaliser at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium after Leo Ositgard put Napoli ahead.
The England international then slalomed through Napoli's defence from around midfield to score his eighth goal in nine appearances since signing for Real Madrid in the summer.
"What surprises me is that he's only 20 years old," said Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti. "He has extraordinary qualities and he's showing how much talent he has."
Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored a controversial penalty after the break to make it 2-2. There was a long VAR review following a sliding tackle by Nacho on Victor Osimhen, as the ball appeared to first hit the defender's shin and then his arm.
But Real, the 14-time winners of the competition, claimed victory after a powerful deflected strike from Federico Valverde hit the crossbar and rebounded in off Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret in the 78th minute.
Victory sent Real top of Group C, where Union Berlin went down to another stoppage-time goal as Andre Castro sealed a 3-2 triumph for Braga, who hit back from 2-0 down to win in the German capital.
Sheraldo Becker's brace put the hosts in charge but Sikou Niakate and Armindo Bruma drew the Portuguese side level before Castro struck in the fourth minute of time added on to break Union hearts.
Thomas Muller came off the bench to set up the winning goal for fellow substitute Mathys Tel in Bayern Munich's 2-1 comeback win over Denmark's FC Copenhagen to put the German champions on top in Group A.
With his side struggling to create against the Danish champions, the 34-year-old Muller entered the game in the 77th minute and used his vast experience to first outrun the defence and then out-muscle it before teeing up Tel to take all three points.
The home side had taken a shock lead in the 56th minute when Bayern failed to clear Viktor Claesson's shot, and midfielder Lukas Lerager followed up with a clever bouncing drive to put the Danish champions in the driving seat.
Bayern struck back in the 67th minute as Jamal Musiala jinked left and right on the edge of the area before dispatching a low shot into the corner of the net beyond the dive of Kamil Grabara before Tel's goal sealed the win.
Copenhagen substitute Jordan Larsson almost snatched a point for his side in the fifth minute of stoppage time as his header was steered goalwards by Eric Choupo-Moting, but Sven Ulreich pulled off a tremendous diving save to keep the lead intact.
The victory left Bayern top of the group on six points, two ahead of Galatasaray, who beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford to leave United bottom.
It was a forgettable night for Premier League teams as Arsenal lost 2-1 at Lens in Group B. Gabriel Jesus put the Gunners ahead but Adrien Thomasson and Elye Wahi gave Lens all three points.
Jordan Teze's stoppage-time goal lifted PSV Eindhoven to a 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla, who twice went ahead through Nemanja Gudelj and Youssef En-Nesyri only to be pegged back.
Luuk de Jong's penalty looked to be vain until Teze popped up in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Marcus Thuram gave Inter Milan a 1-0 Group D victory over Benfica, while Mikel Oyarzabal and Brais Mendez ushered Real Sociedad to a 2-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg.
