UCL: Lille love beating Madridian giants, Thuram is Inter's saviour

Lille staged a dramatic second-half turnaround to secure a 3-1 victory over Atlético Madrid in a heated contest in the Spanish capital. Jonathan David delivered the decisive blow from the penalty spot, echoing his winning strike against Real Madrid three weeks earlier, following a contentious call by referee Marco Guida.

With the upcoming Derby du Nord against Lens in mind, Lille’s coach Bruno Génésio opted to rest key players like Angel Gomes and Jonathan David for the clash at the Metropolitano Stadium. This decision quickly backfired, as a defensive blunder just 10 minutes into the game gave Atlético an early advantage. On his first senior start, Ousmane Touré’s under-hit back pass was intercepted by Julián Alvarez, who coolly slotted it past Lucas Chevalier to open the scoring.

The early goal was exactly what Atlético needed after suffering their heaviest-ever UCL defeat to Benfica in the previous round. Despite a resilient effort from Lille throughout the first half, the Spanish side had ample opportunities to extend their lead, with Alexander Sørloth enduring a frustrating spell in front of goal — most notably sending the ball out for a throw-in in a promising position within the opening minutes.

With Atlético clinging to a slender 1-0 lead at halftime and struggling to keep clean sheets, the game remained in the balance. Lille capitalized on their opponents' defensive vulnerabilities after the break, with a slick counter-attack leading to a deflected shot from first-half substitute Edon Zhegrova, which nestled in the corner beyond Jan Oblak. This equalizer set the stage for a thrilling and controversial final half-hour.

The match’s defining moment arrived in the 70th minute when referee Guida awarded Lille a penalty after a seemingly harmless incident in Atlético’s box. A lengthy VAR review failed to overturn the decision, and David calmly converted to put Lille ahead, sparking fury among the home supporters. The Canadian striker then sealed the win late on, his shot taking a wicked deflection to loop over a helpless Oblak, capping a remarkable night for the French side.

Meanwhile, Inter Milan ended their three-match winless run in the Champions League with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Young Boys, secured in the dying moments by Marcus Thuram at the Stadion Wankdorf.

The Swiss hosts made a bright start in the first half, testing Yann Sommer early when Jaouen Hadjam's deflected shot forced a sharp save from the veteran keeper. Sommer was then called into action again, expertly denying two close-range headers from Alan Virginius and Łukasz Łakomy, keeping the game scoreless as Inter struggled to break down the Young Boys’ defense.

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Inter's clearest chance of the first half came from an unexpected source, with center-back Yann Bisseck making a lung-busting run into the box after a clever flick from Mehdi Taremi. However, his effort was thwarted by David von Ballmoos, who reacted quickly to smother the danger, sending both sides into halftime locked at 0-0.

The second half saw a shaky start from Young Boys, who nearly handed Inter the lead by conceding a penalty moments after the restart. Denzel Dumfries was brought down by Hadjam — who was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card. Marko Arnautović stepped up to take the spot-kick, but his weak attempt was easily saved by von Ballmoos, who then made an excellent stop to deny Dumfries’ follow-up effort.

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Young Boys almost capitalized on Inter's wastefulness shortly before the hour mark, with Joël Monteiro rattling the post after a mazy dribble to the edge of the box. Inter, sensing time running out, pressed harder and were finally rewarded deep into injury time. Substitute Marcus Thuram latched onto a Federico Dimarco cross, poking the ball home to secure a crucial victory for the Nerazzurri.

The defeat ended Young Boys' unbeaten home record against Italian sides in the UCL, leaving them still searching for their first points in this year’s competition. Meanwhile, Inter continued their strong form, extending their winning streak across all competitions to five games.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND 3

Tuesday

AC Milan - Club Brugge 3-1 (1-0)

/Pulisic 34, Reijnders 61, 71 - Sabbe 51/

Monaco - Crvena Zvezda 5-1 (2-1)

/Minamino 21, 70, Embolo 45+4, Singo 54, Akliouche 90+6 - Ndiaye 27 pen/

Arsenal - Shakhtar 1-0 (1-0)

/Riznyk 29 og/

Aston Villa - Bologna 2-0 (0-0)

/McGinn 55, Duran 64/

Girona - Slovan B. 2-0 (1-0)

/Gutierrez 42, Juanpe 73/

Juventus - Stuttgart 0-1 (0-0)

/Toure 90+2/

PSG - PSV 1-1 (0-1)

/Hakimi 55 - Lang 34/

Real Madrid - Dortmund 5-2 (0-2)

/Rudiger 60, VInicius 62, 86, 90+3, Vasquez 83 - Malen 30, Gittens 34/

Sturm - Sporting 0-2 (0-1)

/Santos 23, Gyokeres 53/

Wednesday

Atalanta - Celtic 0-0

Brest - Leverkusen 1-1 (1-1)

/Lees-Melou 39 - Wirtz 24/

Atl.Madrid - Lille 1-3 (1-0)

/Alvarez 8 - Zhegrova 61, David 74 pen, 89/

Barcelona - Bayern 4-1 (3-1)

/Raphinha 1, 45, 56, Lewandowski 36 - Kane 18/

Benfica - Feyenoord 1-3 (0-2)

/Akturkoglu 66 - Ueda 12, Milambo 33, 90+2 pen/

Man.City - Sparta Praha 5-0 (1-0)

/Foden 3, Haaland 58, 68, Stones 64, Nunes 88 pen/

RB Leipzig - Liverpool 0-1 (0-1)

/Nunez 27/

Salzburg - Dinamo Zagreb 0-2 (0-0)

/Kulenovic 49, Petkovic 84/

Young Boys - Inter Milan 0-1 (0-0)

/Thuram 90+3/