The main talking points from UEFA Champions League – Matchday Five

Olivier Giroud scores four as Chelsea top Group E

Chelsea set aside Sevilla with ease in a 4-0 win at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, with Giroud’s performance grabbing the headlines.

Sevilla, who had only lost once to an English side at home, went behind after eight minutes with Kai Havertz teeing up Giroud for his first goal of the evening.

Lampard made nine changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Tottenham at the weekend but Chelsea’s rhythm wasn’t hindered, with the South West London outfit now unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions.

The 34-year-old doubled the visitors lead shortly into the second half with a well-taken finish, before heading in an N’Golo Kante cross on the 74th minute mark to complete a perfect hat-trick .

Giroud then wrapped the game up with a penalty marking his fourth goal of the game, with the Blues inflicting Sevilla’s first European home defeat in two years.

The Frenchman is the first Chelsea player to score four goals in one game since Frank Lampard back in 2010 and became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League since Ferenc Puskas in 1968.

Chelsea now face Krasnodar at home in Matchday six before moving into the last-16 as Group E winners.

Neymar bags a brace to hurt Manchester United

Manchester United’s qualification to the last-16 of the Champions League is up in the air after a Neymar double helped Paris Saint-Germain win 3-1 at Old Trafford.

Fred was dismissed for the hosts in what was a lively encounter in Group H.

Neymar opened the scoring after six minutes for PSG before Rashford levelled the scoring with a deflected effort with 32 minutes played.

Rashford has scored more goals in five UEFA Champions League appearances for Man Utd this season than he managed in 18 games in the competition across his two previous seasons, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The visitors edged in front when Brazilian international Marquinhos bundled home from close range, before Fred received his second booking after a series of fouls throughout the clash.

28-year-old Neymar took advantage of the extra man and put the game to bed with minutes to go with a well-worked team goal to make it 3-1.

Manchester United have lost four of their last seven UEFA Champions League home games- as many as their previous 52 such matches beforehand.

The top three in Group H are all level on nine points and Solskjaer’s side still need a point from their final group game against RB Leipzig in order to go through to the last-16.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores 750th career goal

Juventus breezed past Dynamo Kyiv with a 3-0 win, in a match where Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 750th career goal and Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to take charge of a men’s Champions League fixture.

The Italian champions, who are already through to the last-16, took the lead after 21 minutes when Fiorentina loanee Federico Chiesa scored his maiden goal for the club.

Ronaldo doubled the lead for Juve before Alvaro Morata completed the scoring to make it 3-0 when he slotted home his sixth Champions League goal of the season.

Kyiv have only taken a point from five group games and were little threat to Andrea Pirlo’s side despite impressing in patches.

Juventus remain second in Group G, three points behind Barcelona and both sides will be vying to finish top of the standings after the final group games next week.

35-year-old Ronaldo has now scored 75 goals in two years with Juventus and has showed no signs of slowing down in his latter years.