Paris Saint-Germain launched their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 6-1 rout of Slovan Bratislava, led by Dembélé and Torres, while UEFA’s new substitution rule caught up with Vinicius Jr. during Real Madrid’s match against Inter.
Paris Saint-Germain Dominates Slovan Bratislava in Champions League Opener
The Parc des Princes played host to a commanding opening night for Paris Saint-Germain as the squad dismantled Slovan Bratislava 6-1 in their opening Champions League campaign fixture. Ahead of the match, the PSG boss Luis Enrique warned his trophy-winning players to forget their back-to-back triumphs in the tournament and concentrate on achieving new highs.
That entreaty came on the same afternoon as 11 members of the PSG squad – including the 2025 winner Dembélé – were nominated for various prizes at the Ballon d’Or competition. Fittingly, Dembélé opened the scoring after 15 minutes.
The 29-year-old France international gathered the rebound from Nuno Mendes’ shot which had hit the goal post and slotted past the Slovan goalkeeper Dominik Takac. Moments afterwards, Dembélé was sent clear down the left wing but he lifted the ball over the diving Takac but just past the post.
He atoned for his error eight minutes later. Dro Fernandez’s shot took a deflection off Sandro Cruz and sat up invitingly for Dembélé to nod the ball home.
Torres Secures a Hat Trick in Impressive European Display
On the half hour mark, the poacher turned provider. Dembélé lofted a cross over from the right wing and Torres nipped in front of Takac to poke the ball into the net for PSG’s third goal. Between the goals, Dembélé hit a shot past the post and another over the crossbar, while Achraf Hakimi joined in the wastefulness with a strike off target.
Torres, who fired in Spain’s winner in the 2026 World Cup final against Argentina, scored his second just after the restart. Magnes Akliouche surged down the right wing and into the penalty area before passing to Torres who swept the ball past Takac into the top right hand corner of the goal.
While his second was composed, Torres’ third in the 52nd minute was almost slapstick in comparison. The 26-year-old, one of the Ballon d’Or nominees for his exploits last season with Barcelona and at the 2026 World Cup, mistimed his kick but the ball cannoned off his knee past Takac into the goal for his first hat trick since moving to the Parc des Princes.
Suleiman Camara salvaged some pride for the visitors in the 59th minute to make it 5-1. But PSG had the last word when Fabian Ruiz, another of the PSG squad on the Ballon d’Or list, nudged in the sixth in the 88th minute.
UEFA Enforcement Catches High-Profile Players Off Guard
While the goalscoring dominance at the Parc des Princes captured attention, tournament governance made headlines elsewhere in the competition. The UEFA Champions League is underway, and that has a crew taking a closer look at the recent match between Real Madrid vs. Inter, where Vinicius Jr. became the highest-profile player to fall victim to UEFA’s new substitution rule reigning over the UCL.
Vinicius Jr. failed to get off of the pitch within 10 seconds, causing his replacement Alvaro Carreras to be forced to wait 1 full minute before entering the match. Crew members Hannah Cash, Matteo Bonetti, Geoff Shreeves, and Michael Lahoud broke down the ruling, discussing how close Real Madrid came to conceding an Inter goal during the delay.
Broader European Competition Landscape Takes Shape
In other games on Wednesday night in the competition, Barcelona hammered Feyenoord 5-1 and last year’s beaten finalists Arsenal won 1-0 in Napoli. There were also victories for Liverpool, Sporting Portugal, and Stuttgart.
On Thursday, Lens, France’s third side in the Champions League, start their campaign at Slavia Prague. On Tuesday night, Lille lost their opening game 3-2 at home to Real Betis.
