UEFA Champions League round-up: Atletico Madrid claim late win against Bayer Leverkusen, Bologna beat Borussia Dortmund

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Julian Alvarez scored a miraculous brace to help Atletico Madrid claim a crucial 2-1 win in their UEFA Champions League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, Bologna scored two goals in 60 seconds to earn their first Champions League win of the campaign against last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund. Elsewhere, Liverpool beat Lille and Barcelona beat Benfica in a nine-goal thriller.

Highlights: Atleti snatch late winner in feisty Leverkusen clash

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Julian Alvarez hauled Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Piero Hincapie nodded home Leverkusen’s opener on the stroke of half-time, after Atletico’s Pablo Barrios had been sent off for a studs-up sliding challenge on Reinildo Mandava.

Yet, Atletico equalised after the break through a brilliant Alvarez solo-goal, with the former Manchester City man rounding the keeper to net an 89th minute winner.

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Atletico are up to third in the UEFA Champions League table, while Leverkusen, who had Hincapie sent off in the second half, sit in sixth.

Meanwhile, Bologna claimed a remarkable 2-1 victory over 2024 Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy netted the game’s opener via a first-half panenka penalty, only for Bologna to grab an equaliser through Thijs Dallinga.

It was the Italian side’s first goal in open play across this season’s entire Champions League campaign.

And just 60 seconds later, Samuel Iling-Junior tapped into an empty net for Bologna's second. Vincenzo Italiano's side are now just three points adrift of a playoff spot, while Dortmund sit in 13th.

'Don't you just love football?' - Bologna strike twice in two minutes to lead 2-1 over Dortmund

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Elsewhere, Barcelona claimed an enthralling 5-4 win over Benfica in one of the games of this season’s Champions League.

Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick within half an hour, while Robert Lewandowski netted a first-half spot kick to keep Barcelona in the game.

The second half was even more chaotic, as Benfica goalkeeper Mile Svilar’s clearance hit Raphinha’s head before bouncing into an empty net, only for Ronald Araujo’s own goal to make the score 4-2.

But Lewandowski netted a second-half penalty, Eric Garcia claimed an 86th minute equaliser and Raphinha scored an injury-time winner to round-off an incredible Barcelona comeback. Barcelona are second in the table, while Benfica sit in 18th.

'Can you believe that?' - Raphinha scores last-gasp winner for Barca after Benfica howl for penalty

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Liverpool earned a 2-1 win over Lille at Anfield to extend their perfect Champions League record and tighten their grip on top spot.

Mohamed Salah's first-half goal, his 50th European strike for Liverpool, was cancelled out by Lille’s Jonathan David. However, Harvey Elliott's deflected effort won the game after Aissa Mandi was sent off for the visitors.

Barcelona's dramatic victory over Benfica means that Liverpool still need one more point to be certain of top spot, while Lille sit in 11th.

Highlights: Seventh heaven for Slot and co as Liverpool qualify for the last 16

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In Serbia, 10-man PSV Eindhoven fought off a late Crvena Zvezda comeback to win 3-2.

Luuk de Jong scored PSV's opening two goals, before Ryan Flamingo volleyed home an exceptional third for the visitors.

However, when Flamingo was sent off in the 50th minute, Cherif Ndiaye and Nasser Djiga netted to give PSV a late scare. PSV sit in 16th while Crvena Zvezda are 31st.

Flamingo flashes in stunning volley for PSV's third in Belgrade

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Furthermore, Stuttgart beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1 to go 21st in the Champions League table.

Stuttgart had a 2-0 half-time lead through a Jamie Leweling brace. Idjessi Metsoko’s goal halved the deficit for Slovan Bratislava in the 85th minute, only for Fabian Rieder to score two minutes later and ensure victory for the Bundesliga outfit.

The eight o'clock kick-offs were rounded off by Juventus' 0-0 draw at Club Brugge, with the Serie A giants now sitting fifth in the Champions League table and their opponents in 17th.

In the early kick-offs, a weary Aston Villa laboured to a 1-0 defeat against Monaco.

Highlights: Villa suffer defeat in Monaco as top-eight hopes go to final matchday

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The French side went into the match having won just one game of the previous eight, but Wilfried Singo’s eighth-minute goal was enough to beat Unai Emery’s side, who are eighth in the table.

Meanwhile, Atalanta thrashed Austrian outfit Sturm Graz 5-0 in the other early game, with the goals coming courtesy of Mateo Retegui, Mario Pasalic, Charles De Ketelaere, Ademola Lookman and Marco Brescianini. They move up to fourth in the table.

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