Paris St Germain's Goncalo Ramos scores their first goal [Source: Reuters]

A fine finish from Goncalo Ramos, a goal from Nuno Mendes and a late strike from Desire Doue gave Paris St Germain a vital Champions League victory, as they beat RB Salzburg 3-0 this morning to move into the playoff spots.

Luis Enrique’s side, who have made a terrible start to their Champions League campaign, now sit 24th in the standings just inside the playoff positions, with seven points from six games, while Salzburg are 32nd.

PSG looked sharp in the first half and went close early on through Lee Kang-in’s long-range effort and Vitinha’s attempt that was denied by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

Bradley Barcola also went close as he burst into the area after a superb run but was unable to finish.

“I’m missing that little something in front of goal that will unlock me. Don’t think it is a blockage, but we talked about it a lot among ourselves. I had to continue working,” Barcola said.

Achraf Hakimi set up Ramos for the opener on the half-hour mark.

The Parisians looked dangerous in the second half as the home side struggled to find their feet.

The closest Salzburg came was through Nene Dorgeles in the 63rd minute, as he broke into the box on the left and shot at goal, but PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the ball out.

But PSG were the better side and Mendes doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute with a thunderous left-footed shot from Doue’s pass.

Defender Lucas Hernandez returned to the side after a long-term injury and replaced Mendes six minutes from time before Doue added a third goal to seal a much-needed win.

On the other hand, Real Madrid got a much-needed 3-2 Champions League win at Atalanta on Tuesday thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham as the holders snapped a two-game losing run in the competition.

Real handed the Serie A leaders their first defeat in this season’s revamped Champions League after Mbappe gave them the lead with a strike from inside the box in the 10th minute before he was forced off with an injury.

Charles de Ketelaere equalised with a penalty after Aurelien Tchouameni tripped Sead Kolasinac from behind just before the break but Vinicius Jr stroked home a rebound in the 56th minute to put the visitors back in front.

Bellingham extended their lead after a counter attack three minutes later but Ademola Lookman reduced the deficit in the 65th before Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois worked his magic with a string of saves to secure a hard-fought win.

With two games left, Real are 18th in the 36-team table on nine points, three points off the top eight spots which secures direct qualification to the last 16. Atalanta are ninth on 11 points after slipping into the playoff places.

“It was a great game and we’re happy that it was Real Madrid who took it,” Brahim Diaz, who set up Mbappe for the opener, told Movistar Plus.

“We came here with confidence and for the players these games are to show that we are made to play for a club like Real Madrid. This team has a lot to give still and we’re going to give much more.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time. We can finish with 15 points if we win the last two games and than see what happens. Things are going the way they have to go and that’s promising.”

Off the back of a fabulous campaign in which they won record-extending titles in LaLiga and the Champions League, Real have struggled in their European title defence.

They lost three of their previous four continental matches before heading to Italy to face red-hot Atalanta, who were unbeaten in the competition having conceded only one goal.

In another match played this morning, Liverpool keeper Alisson saw plenty of action on his return from injury in the Champions League win at Girona on Tuesday, and manager Arne Slot was full of praise for the Brazilian who played a big role in maintaining their perfect record.

Alisson had been out with a hamstring injury since Oct. 5, and while his replacement Caoimhin Kelleher impressed during his absence, Alisson showed why he is Slot’s first choice with several saves before Mohamed Salah’s penalty gave Liverpool the win.

“Alisson definitely didn’t look like he’d been out for two months,” Slot said.

“I joked with the players that maybe they wanted to see how ready he was because they let him make so many saves.

“But he showed why I always say that he’s our number one.”

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson also praised his keeper but was unhappy with how many chances they allowed Girona, with Alisson pulling off saves from Alejandro Frances and Miguel Gutierrez in the opening half.

“He has been out for a while so maybe we had to see whether he was rusty or not and he certainly wasn’t,” Robertson said.

“But we have to have more control. We can’t leave so many gaps, we have to press aggressively and a lot better. Especially in the first half, it was a bit too back and forth for our taste.”

Slot was also complimentary towards the opposition, who really posed problems for Liverpool but ultimately fell to their fifth defeat in six games, thanks in large part to Alisson.

“I almost feel really sorry for Girona, they are such a high quality team and they deserve much more than three points that they have so far,” Slot said.

“They had a really good game plan today but we had a really good goalkeeper.”

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