PARIS: Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid turned boos into cheers with a come-from-behind 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Aston Villa maintained their 100 percent record to go top of the table and Paris St Germain dropped more points.

In a repeat of last season’s final which Real won 2-0, the 15-times champions were 2-0 down at halftime but rallied with three goals from Vinicius — who also scored in the final in May — and one each from Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez to inflict further anguish on Dortmund.

First-half goals in quick succession by Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens had given Dortmund a two-goal lead and the crowd had jeered loudly after the halftime whistle as Real struggled and looked set for their second straight Champions League loss following a 14-match unbeaten run in the competition.

“We know that when we are at home playing in front of our fans, anything can happen,” Vinicius Junior said. “When we got to the locker room, we were all very quiet, we just listened to the coach and we said only one thing, that if we scored the first goal, we would rally and win, and we did it again.”

After the surprise defeat at Lille last time out, Real’s hunt for a record-extending 16th Champions League crown is back on track as they move to ninth in the standings, on six points.

Malen swept the Germans into the lead on the half-hour following a deft pass from Serhou Guirassy that split open the defence.

Real defender Eder Militao was then left beating the turf in frustration four minutes later when Gittens flew in at the back post to double Dortmund’s lead.

Rudiger halved the deficit with a powerful header from a Kylian Mbappe cross on 60 minutes.

Vinicius equalised two minutes later by tucking away a stray ball, the goal being awarded by VAR after Mbappe was shown to have been onside in the build-up.

A rare Dortmund foray forward resulted in a fine Thibaut Courtois save, with the holders then racing straight down the other end and Vazquez lashing home on 83 minutes.

Vinicius then completed his hat-trick in the 86th and 93rd minutes, his second coming after a lung-busting sprint down the line from inside his own half.

Playing in Europe’s top competition for the first time in 41 years, Villa are enjoying an excellent return as they won their third match in three Champions League outings this term with a 2-0 victory against Bologna.

“We are playing seriously, we are playing focussed, responsible and the team is progressing and mature in everything,” manager Unai Emery told TNT Sports.

John McGinn opened the scoring at Villa Park 10 minutes after the interval and Jhon Duran wrapped up the points in the 64th minute, sending Emery’s side to the top of the league phase table on nine points with zero goals conceded.

Coming off a loss to Arsenal in their last Champions League game, PSG managed to level the score with an Achraf Hakimi goal after going into the break a goal down against Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, but couldn’t find a second goal in a 1-1 draw.

PSV surprised PSG with a Noa Lang goal against the run of play before Hakimi hit back on 55 minutes. PSG, who have four points from three games, had a stoppage-time penalty overturned by video review.

Arsenal emerged 1-0 winners at home to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to an own-goal from the visitors’ goalkeeper.

Dmytro Riznyk could only grasp at thin air after Gabriel Martinelli had cut in from the left and smacked the ball against the near post before it rebounded back off the goalie and over the line.

Leandro Trossard missed a penalty near the end, but Arsenal had already done enough to secure their second win of the tournament.

Christian Pulisic scored direct from a corner — and admitted it was an accident — while there was VAR heartbreak for 16-year-old Francesco Camarda as AC Milan beat 10-men Club Brugge 3-1 to end their wait for a Champions League win.

United States forward Pulisic seemed stunned by his feat — known as an “Olimpico” — as Milan finally earned its first three points, having lost their opening two games in the new-look format.

Belgium’s Brugge had to play most of the game with 10 men after Raphael Onyedika was sent off in the 40th minute but still leveled the score with a goal from Kyriani Sabbe in the 51st. Tijjani Reijnders later scored twice to give Milan the much-needed win.

Camarda was brought on in the 75th and became the youngest Italian debutant in the Champions League. He briefly thought he’d broken the record for youngest Champions League scorer too, but his header was ruled offside to halt joyous celebrations.

VfB Stuttgart sank Juventus 1-0 in Turin, thanks to a stoppage-time winner by El Bilal Toure.

The Italians were reduced to 10 men when Danilo picked up a second yellow while conceding a penalty in the 84th minute.

Mattia Perin looked to have saved his side when he stopped the resulting spot-kick from Enzo Millot, but Toure slammed home in the 92nd minute for Stuttgart.

Wilfried Singo scored from around 30 metres (100 feet) out as Monaco stayed unbeaten with a 5-1 win over Red Star Belgrade. Monaco have seven points from their opening three games.

Last season’s La Liga surprise-packages Girona picked up their first points in the competition with a 2-0 win at home to Slovan Bratislava, while Sporting Lisbon beat Sturm Graz 2-0 in Austria.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2024