Bayern and Real maintain perfect CL start; Liverpool end rot in style

All-conquering Bayern Munich and record winners Real Madrid maintained their perfect start into the Champions League season on Wednesday while Liverpool returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion after four defeats across all competitions.

Bayern trounced Club Brugge 4-0 to become the most successful German team ever at the start of a season with 12 straight victories. Lennart Karl became the youngest Bayern player to score in the elite event at 17 years 242 days, and Harry Kane was on target yet again.

Real beat Juventus 1-0 in a duel of European heavyweights from Jude Bellingham's 57th-minute tap-in ahead of Sunday's Clasico against Barcelona.

Bayern and Real joined title holders Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Arsenal, who won on Tuesday, on a maximum nine points.

Liverpool meanwhile scored three times in nine first-half minutes from Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Kanote to overcome an early deficit en route to a 5-1 triumph at Eintracht Frankfurt which ended their run of defeats in England and Europe.

"I don't know if it's a statement but it is a win and something to build on," Van Dijk told TNT Sport. "Today we won and have to be ready for Brentford on Saturday."

Elsewhere, Chelsea trounced 10-man Ajax with the same 5-1 scoreline in match with one red card and three penalties in the first half.

Qarabag's perfect start ended in a 3-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao with two goals from Gorka Guruzeta, and Galatasaray followed up on their victory over Liverpool by beating Bodö/Glimt 3-1 with the help of a Victor Osimhen brace.

Sporting defeated 10-man Olympique Marseille, who had Emerson sent off for diving in the first half, 2-1 from a late winner by Allison Santos.

There were no goals at Monaco v Tottenham Hotspur and Atalanta v Slavia Prague.

A dozen wins for Bayern

Karl made the most of only his second first team start when he fired Bayern ahead in spectacular fashion five minutes into the game, running between two defenders and firing into the top right corner from the edge of the area.

Kane tapped the second into the empty net at the far post off Konrad Laimer in the 14th for his 20th Bayern goal of the season

Laimer also set up Luis Diaz to score the third in off the crossbar in the 34th for the hosts, and Nicolas Jackson came on for Kane during the second half and tapped the fourth in the 79th.

"I am very happy with my goal and my performance. It is a lot of fun with the lads, everything is just working out," Man of the match Karl told streaming portal DAZN.

Bayern's 12 wins are a German start record and according to statisticians Opta they are just one away from the record 13 in Europe's top five leagues AC Milan achieved in 1992-93. Bayern can match that on Saturday in the Bundesliga at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Real edge Juve

Juve had a bright start at the Bernabeu but Real grew into the game as Brahim Diaz had a chance denied by goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio, who then saved even better against Kylian Mbappe later in the first half which ended after Eder Miltao blazed over.

Juve's best chance came in the 52nd when Dusan Vlahovic ran across half the field but was denied by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois but Real were ahead five minutes later when Vinicius Junior danced past several defenders to hit the right post and Bellingham converted on the rebound.

Diaz came close to a second but Federico Gatti cleared on the goal-line before Courtois denied Juve a late equalizer from Filip Kostic.

"Make no mistake, we played against a good side who defended well and defended in numbers. That meant it wasn't easy for us. And our keeper played brilliantly, too," Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouaméni told Movistar. "we can look forward positively and keep working to add more wins and improve."

Liverpool end rot in style

Liverpool dominated the early stages in Frankfurt but it was the hosts who drew first blood in the 26th. A quick counter attack after Florian Wirtz lost possession exposed Liverpool's vulnerability at the back again and Rasmus Kristensen scored in off the far left post.

But Liverpool responded quickly as Ekitike ran away from Robin Koch in the 35th after a through ball from Andy Robertson and scored against his former club which resulted in an apologetic gesture.

Van Dijk's thumping header off a corner kick put the Reds ahead, and Konate nodded the third after another corner in the 44th.

Liverpool were now utterly dominant and Wirtz first set up Cody Gakpo in the 66th and then Dominik Szoboszlai in the 70th as Frankfurt suffered their second straight 5-1 defeat in the event after winning their opener with the same scoreline.

"We lost 5-1, you don't really have to say a lot. It hurts, we led and then conceded from set pieces," Frankfurt's Mario Götze said.

Chelsea also hit five

At Stamford Bridge, Kenneth Taylor of Ajax was sent off in the 17th minutes for a reckless tackle against Facundo Buonanotte, and Chelsea took the lead from Marc Guiu after the ensuing free-kick.

Moises Caicedo got the second, Wout Weghorst gave Ajax a little hope from the spot but it was 4-1 at the half from penalties by Enzo Fernandez and Estevao. Tyrique George wrapped up matters in the 48th after coming on for the second half.