Liverpool cruise; Barcelona, Atletico stunned in Champions League

LONDON: Liverpool put their recent stutters behind them to comfortably beat Rangers 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday and move into second spot in Group A.

The win, thanks to a sumptuous first-half free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a second-half penalty by Mohamed Salah, put the six-times European champions on six points after three games - three points behind leaders Napoli.

The Scots, who barely threatened Liverpool to the disappointment of their passionate fans complete with a bagpipe-player, remain bottom of the group on zero points.

In need of a morale booster after their poor start to the Premier League, Liverpool's four-man attack of Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez swarmed over Rangers from the off. By contrast, the visitors' Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos was largely isolated.

Alexander-Arnold, whose chances of making England's World Cup squad are in the balance after recent below-par displays, struck a superb free kick over the wall and past Rangers keeper Allan McGregor in the seventh minute to raise the roof off Anfield.

Liverpool's Nunez could have had a hat-trick in the first half as McGregor pulled off four saves in succession from the Uruguayan striker.

But it was Salah who scored the second from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute after Diaz was brought down in the box.

Inter Milan bounced back after two consecutive losses in Serie A with a crucial Champions League 1-0 win against Barcelona thanks to a Hakan Calhanoglu goal.

The Turkish midfielder slotted home a clinical strike from just outside the area, with the ball going into the corner to the goalkeeper's right in added time before the break.

The home win lifted Inter to second place in Group C on six points, three behind leaders Bayern Munich and three in front of Barcelona.

Inter and Barca will face each other again next week at the Camp Nou when a third loss in four games would leave Barca in danger of being knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage for the second consecutive season.

Goals from Club Brugge forwards Kamal Sowah and Ferran Jutgla saw the Belgians beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 at home and extend their unbeaten run in Champions League Group B this season.

The hosts took the lead in the 36th minute when Jutgla's low pass across the goal found Sowah, who tapped the the ball into an empty net for his second European goal in three games.

Jutgla doubled the lead in the 62nd after winger Tajon Buchanan calmly waited for the right moment to set up the Spaniard inside the box.

Brugge and Atletico will face each other again next Wednesday in the reverse fixture in Madrid.

Giacomo Raspadori netted twice as Napoli came from behind to deliver a masterclass and score a runaway 6-1 win at 10-man Ajax Amsterdam.

Captain Giovanni di Lorenzo, Piotr Zielinski, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Giovanni Simeone added the other goals for the Italian league leaders, after Mohammed Kudus had given the hosts the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

Napoli, who might have scored more such was their dominance, have a 100 percent record at the halfway point in Group A, leaving Ajax with three points from their opening three games and in danger of missing out on next year's knockout stages after their biggest defeat in European football.

Tottenham Hotspur squandered a string of chances and failed to get a shot on target for more than 80 minutes, settling for a 0-0 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt in Group D.

Porto substitutes Zaidu and Galeno were both on target as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to seal the Portuguese side's first victory in this season's Champions League group stage.

Nigerian defender Zaidu smashed home a perfect header in the 69th minute from a cross by forward Mehdi Taremi six minutes after coming on to replace Wendell.

Olympique de Marseille secured their first Champions League win of the season when they recovered from a shaky start to outclass 10-man Sporting Lisbon 4-1 in an incident-packed Group D encounter at an empty Stade Velodrome.

Bayern Munich struck three times in the opening 21 minutes en route to a 5-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League to stay top of Group C and set a record for the longest unbeaten run in group matches.

Leroy Sane scored twice while Serge Gnabry, Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were also on target for the Germans, who have now gone 31 group matches in the competition without defeat, passing the mark set by Real Madrid.

They have also scored nine goals in their last two matches in all competitions after their 4-0 league win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday that ended a four-game winless run in the Bundesliga.

The Bavarians, who face Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga's Der Klassiker on Saturday, found no resistance from the Czechs and made the most of big gaps in their defence at every opportunity. Agencies

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