Bayern beat Barcelona on Lewandowski return, Liverpool grab late winner

Barcelona’s Spanish forward Ferran Torres (L) and Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Serge Gnabry (C) and Bayern Munich’s German midfielder Leon Goretzka vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group C football match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in Munich, southern Germany on September 13, 2022. (Photo by KERSTIN JOENSSON / AFP)

Bayern Munich got the better of Barcelona as Robert Lewandowski returned to face his former club on Tuesday, while a late Joel Matip goal allowed Liverpool to beat Ajax and get their Champions League campaign up and running.

There was also a surprise defeat for Tottenham Hotspur at Sporting Lisbon, and Atletico Madrid were beaten on their trip to play Bayer Leverkusen.

Both Spanish visitors to Germany came away on the losing side, with Barcelona going down 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in Group C as Lewandowski came back to the club he left in the summer after eight prolific seasons in Bavaria.

The Pole scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut for Barca as the Catalans beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1 last week.

He was desperately close to opening the scoring in the first half in Munich, but it was Bayern who went in front five minutes into the second half when Lucas Hernandez headed in from a corner.

Leroy Sane burst through four minutes later to make it 2-0 as Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern made it two wins out of two in the group.

They have now won their last five meetings with Barcelona, including two in last season’s group stage and their 8-2 victory in the 2020 quarter-finals.

“I think for ‘Lewy’ it was really an emotional game to come back — a little bit like coming home, because he was so successful here,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told Amazon Prime of his old teammate.

“The luck in