Lionel Messi leads attack after latest milestone: Champions League team of the week

Argentine scores against a record 39th different club to help PSG claim a comeback victory

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  CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK: GK: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur). But for Lloris’s athletic interventions in Lisbon, Spurs might have lost more heavily, or fallen behind earlier, in their defeat to Sporting, where the two goals came late, reward for the Portuguese club’s greater enterprise. Getty

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  RCB: John Stones (Manchester City). Asked to take up a right-back position, which involved tucking into midfield as well as monitoring bold Borussia Dortmund counters, Stones led City’s reaction to falling behind with a bold strike from distance - a stunning equaliser. EPA

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  CB: Joel Matip (Liverpool). Added some stability to a Liverpool back line that has not been at its best, and capped his return to the starting XI, having been injured in early August, with the late, winning goal in the much-needed 2-1 win against Ajax. PA

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  LCB: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich). Selected, ahead of big-money signing Matthijs De Ligt, to share the duty of marking Robert Lewandowski, Upamecano rose to the occasion against Barcelona, a sturdy presence in the Bayern Munich defence in their 2-0 win. Getty

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  RM: Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen). Frimpong played only 21 minutes, off the bench, against Atletico Madrid, the club that like to think they are specialists at turning around a game late on. Frimpong corrected them, his two sharp crosses for goals the difference in Leverkusen’s 2-0 victory. Getty

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  CM Fede Valverde (Real Madrid). Once again, Valverde raised the standard for the European champions after an uncertain start to a Champions League game. The midfielder showed his qualities defensively and in breaking into attacking positions. AFP

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  CM Enzo Fernandez (Benfica). The 21-year-old Argentine did much to galvanise Benfica’s comeback from a goal down at Juventus and to maintain his club’s excellent form this season so far. He has made an eye-catching start to his career in European club football. AFP

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  LM Raheem Sterling (Chelsea). A coolly taken goal soothed his new manager Graham Potter’s nerves on a testing first night in charge for Potter against a lively Salzburg. The ex-Liverpool and Manchester City forward was Chelsea’s standout performer in the 1-1 draw. Getty

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  RW: Marcus Edwards (Sporting). A fabulous run that would have deserved to finish with a goal reminded Spurs, who let Edwards leave their club while a teenager, why he was once compared with Lionel Messi by one former Tottenham manager. Dazzling at times. And he ended up on the winning side, too. Reuters

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  CF: Ferran Jutgla (FC Brugge). The hero of the week’s most emphatic shock result, Jutgla, who joined Brugge in the summer from Barcelona, won and converted the penalty that opened the floodgates in the 4-0 demolition of Porto. His pass then set up the second goal. AFP

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  LW: Lionel Messi (PSG). Another Messi milestone: his equaliser at Maccabi Haifa meant he has now eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo for the number of different clubs - 39 - he has scored against in the Champions League. Completed the comeback with the pass for PSG’s second goal in the 3-1 win. AFP

The second round of Champions League group stage matches were played out this week and it was another record-setting outing for Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.

In scoring the equaliser after Paris Saint-Germain fell behind to Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday night, Messi has now scored against 39 clubs in the Champions League, edging ahead of the previous record he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo. Further goals from Kylian Mbappe and Neymar secured a 3-1 victory and ensured PSG avoided a major shock after earlier conceding to Tjaronn Chery.

While PSG avoided a shock result, that wasn't the case for several of Europe's heavy hitters. Former champions Porto were thrashed 4-0 at home by Belgian side Club Brugges, Italian giants Juventus were beaten 2-0 in Turin by Portugal's Benfica, and 2021 winners Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Austrian champions RB Salzburg.

In the blockbuster match of the round Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, a result that left Barca manager Xavi "angry", while holders Real Madrid needed two late goals to beat RB Leipzig 2-0 at the Bernabeu.

So too did Manchester City, with John Stones and Erling Haaland guiding the Premier League champions past Borussia Dortmund, 2-1, after Jude Bellingham had given the Germans an earlier lead.

Liverpool also left it late to secure all three points against Ajax, Joel Matip's injury-time header ultimately proving the difference having seen Mohamed Salah's opener cancelled out by Mohammed Kudus' superb strike. The Reds remain second in the group, though, after Napoli cruised past Rangers 3-0 in Glasgow.

There was a defeat for the fourth English club in the competition as Tottenham lost 2-0 at Sporting - a result that could have been worse were it not for a strong display from goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris.

Elsewhere, there were wins for both Milan clubs, Inter defeating Viktoria Plzen 2-0 and AC claiming a comfortable 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb. Eintracht Frankfurt beat Marseille 1-0 in France, and super-sub Jeremie Frimpong led Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-0 home win against Atletico Madrid.

Draws were played out between Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic - both goals coming in the first half - and Copenhagen and Sevilla, where an uneventful match ended goalless.

Reflecting on the performances from the latest round of games, Ian Hawkey has selected his Champions League team of the week in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.