Europe’s elite club competition witnessed a goals explosion on Tuesday, as games featuring Arsenal and Manchester City contributed to a record-breaking night in the UEFA Champions League.
The third matchday of the league phase produced a staggering 43 goals across nine matches, marking the highest-scoring single matchday in the competition’s history (excluding the final day of the 2024/25 league phase), with an average of 4.8 strikes per game.
Both English giants secured emphatic results. Manchester City comfortably dispatched Villarreal with a 2-0 victory, highlighted by a goal from striker Erling Haaland, who extended his incredible scoring run.
Meanwhile, Arsenal enjoyed an even more commanding performance, dismantling La Liga side Atlético Madrid in a spectacular 4-0 win at home. The Gunners maintained their perfect record in the competition this term.
Arsenal’s impressive victory was spearheaded by a brace from Viktor Gyökeres, alongside goals from Gabriel Magalhães and Gabriel Martinelli. Speaking after the win, Gyökeres was delighted with the team’s output.
“Both goals were great. I try to do my best all the time and work hard, contribute with different stuff and the goals would have come sooner or later. To score four and keep a clean sheet again is very good. We do things right when we defend and when we get the chances we are extremely strong in taking those,” he stated.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised his side’s performance and the work rate of his forward. “At this level in the Champions League you really need to step up and we certainly did that in every phase of the play. I’m very happy with the result.
And I’m delighted for Viktor scoring two goals as he fully deserved it. The work rate he brings to the team is outstanding,” Arteta told Amazon Prime. The flurry of goals firmly puts both English clubs among the favourites for the European title.