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In a stunning Champions League game against Liverpool, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven twice came from behind to defeat them 3-2 on Wednesday. This denied the Reds a perfect league record.

Liverpool’s first homecoming as an Anfield boss and Dutch coach Arne Slot’s first game in his native country as an Anfield manager were ruined by the persistent performance from PSV by the Liverpool striker Cody Gakpo to his young club.

With big Premier League matches in hand and a guaranteed first or second place in the new-look Champions League, Slot’s team made nine changes.

Although Gakpo started, both Dutch defenders Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were left at home, to the cheer of both sides.

A shaky opening quarter of the first-half goal bonanza at Eindhoven on a gloomy night at the Philips Stadion gave little indication of the anticipated first-half goal gimmick.

Joey Veerman, a star player for PSV, was tasked with opening the scoring in the box, who was caught in possession and awkwardly downing Federico Chiesa for a spot-kick.

Gakpo took the spot kick, stroking it into the corner without apprehension, and not celebrating against his hometown team as several front-line penalty-takers were left out.

Johan Bakayoko, a 21-year-old smartly turned two Liverpool defenders and curled his shot into the corner, giving PSV a quick equalization.

Five minutes before half-time, however, Liverpool were back in control thanks to Walter Benitez’s brave Chiesa shot that was only parried by the forward.

On the stroke of half-time, the Dutch champions rallied and won the match with Ismael Saibari, who had a superb finish in the top corner.

After a sensational opening half, Veerman’s low cross was bundled in by Ricardo Pepi for a 3-2 lead. Another PSV attack down the left exposed the Liverpool defence once more in injury time.

Six minutes into the second half, Slot substituted the Eindhoven-born Gakpo, who received a standing ovation from the home fans, who he warmly applauded.

Both teams appeared to take a break after the first half’s end-to-end action, with little goalmouth action coming in the first half.

On 73 minutes, Saibari should have put PSV out of sight when he was clean through on goal, but Tyler Morton’s heroic last-ditch tackle kept the Reds in the game.

Luuk De Jong, a local hero, was Saibari’s final game action, as PSV coach Peter Bosz brought in Luuk De Jong for the final period of the match.

Only four minutes after starting as a substitute, Amara Nallo, 18, was shown a straight red for a poor tackle on Bakayoko.

The young slot players’ young guns pressed hard against the Reds’ stout PSV defense, but they were unable to break through it for a famous victory.

Aston Villa advanced to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Celtic thanks to Morgan Rogers’ hat-trick.

Unai Emery’s side needed to win the “Battle of Britain” at Villa Park to secure automatic qualification on the evening of the league phase’s final night.

After Rogers became the first player to score twice in a Champions League game’s opening five minutes, they were on course.

Adam Idah, a Celtic striker, scored twice in a row just before half-time to end a 14-game goal drought that started in November.

But, just hours after Arsenal reportedly made a £60 million ($74 million) bid for Ollie Watkins, the 29-year-old restored Villa’s advantage after the interval.

Watkins also missed a penalty, but Rogers scored the final two goals for the 1982 European Cup winners, finishing eighth overall.

Before the final whistle, Villa’s players assembled on the field to review the outcomes of the other matches that had an impact on their fate.

The eight two-legged knockout play-off matches between the league’s top clubs, which are ranked from ninth to twenty-four, will be played at Villa.

This was another historic moment for Villa, who memorably defeated Bayern Munich earlier this year. Villa is now back in the Champions League for the first time since 1982-83.

After winning last week’s game against Young Boys, Scottish champions Celtic had already been guaranteed a spot in the play-off round.

Brendan Rodgers ‘ team, in the knockout stages for the first time in 12 years, finished 21st place and will face holders Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the play-offs, with the opponents to be decided in Friday’s draw.

Before kick-off, supporters on the Holte End unveiled a Tifo banner featuring snarling Black Sabbath singer and renowned Villa fan Ozzy Osbourne, setting the tone for a memorable night.

– Villa revival –

With a blistering start to the first competitive game between the clubs, Rogers made sure Villa fans wouldn’t become alarmed by their team’s top-eight hopes.

In the third minute, Jacob Ramsey stepped up to Rogers and guided a skillful finish past Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.

When Watkins picked out Rogers, who fired a superb strike that arrowed slightly deflections into the top corner, Villa doubled their lead.

In the 36th minute, Villa midfielder John McGinn, a boyhood Celtic fan, unintentionally gave the ball to Idah who twisted to hit the ball from close range.

Just 145 seconds later, Celtic were level with a superbly crafted goal.

Reo Hatate’s pass teed up Idah and fired into the roof of the net as a result of a flowing move to open the Villa defense.

Since 1984’s Ronnie Whelan, Idah became the first Republic of Ireland player to score twice in a Champions League game.

At half-time, Shell-shocked Villa needed to regroup, and their renewed pressure paid off.

A squared pass from Ramsey gave Watkins the opportunity to lash home from 12 yards after his burst on McGinn’s ball extended his reach beyond the Celtics’ defense.

After Auston Trusty’s foul on the striker conceded a penalty, Watkins wasted a rare chance to save Villa.

The latter received the nod after McGinn and Watkins debated whether to punish McGinn for his run-up and embarrassingly scuff his shot wide.

Real Madrid, the champions of the competition, defeated Brest 3-0 on Wednesday to move up to the last 16, but Ronaldogo scored twice and Jude Bellingham once.

Bellingham doubled their lead early in the second half after a brave Brest side was denied an equalizer by a tight offside call. In the first half, Rodrygo opened the scoring for a Real side that was missing the suspended Vinicius Junior.

After Kylian Mbappe’s effort was saved, Rodrygo then sealed the victory late in the match.

In this new, expanded Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti’s side lost three of their first five games, which raises the possibility of being eliminated before the knockout phase.

However, they won three straight games and have now won five straight overall since beating Barcelona 5-2 in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup final on January 12.

Madrid had already secured a spot in the knockout phase and were a point better off than their opponents, but they were only 16th place overall.

Real and Brest will now have to come out of a two-legged play-off tie in February, with the draw taking place on Friday, because not enough other results did Real’s way to get them into the spots that offer a direct path into the last 16.

Much of the attention in Guingamp, Brest’s base for Champions League home games this season, was on Mbappe, with the France captain back in his home country.

Mbappe was yelled out loud both before and after the kick-off and throughout the entire game.

Despite being in excellent form and scoring eight goals in his last five matches across all competitions, he was unable to cap the scoring with a goal.

When Rodrygo cut into the box from the left and finished low over the goalkeeper and in off the far post to make Brest’s lead 1-0 just before the half-hour mark, the fans were silenced.

Six minutes later, when Ludovic Ajorque poked the ball home through a deflection, the French team believed they had equalized, but the celebrations were halted by a tight offside.

Real went on to win 2-0 after 56 minutes, with Bellingham breaking away before coming in the box to finish Lucas Vazquez’s low center.

After being held to a 2-2 draw by ruthless Atalanta, who had failed to qualify directly for the last 16, Barcelona secured second place in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo’s goals put Hansi Flick’s team in the lead with 19 points, ahead of Arsenal and Inter Milan in goal difference.

After Liverpool lost to PSV Eindhoven, Barca had a chance to take the top spot, but Ederson and Mario Pasalic were able to hold on for the lead in the 67th and 79th minutes.

When Pasalic slotted Marten de Roon’s pass home, the Italians’ hopes of a historic victory at the Montjuic Olympic stadium were thwarted when Giorgio Scalvini was stretchered off with three minutes left.

Defender Scalvini, who has missed most of this season with a serious knee injury, left the field moments after Atalanta made their last substitution of the evening, leaving Gian Piero Gasperini’s team with 10 men for the final minutes.