PARIS, Nov 04 (AFP): Diogo Jota scored a stunning hat-trick in Liverpool's 5-0 demolition of Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, as holders Bayern Munich scored six and Real Madrid struck late to beat Inter Milan in a thriller.
On a prolific night across Europe which also saw a rampant Borussia Moenchengladbach hit six in Ukraine, the star individual performances came from Jota and Alassane Plea.
Portugal forward Jota joined Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers in September and has wasted little time making an impact with seven goals from just five starts.
In Bergamo, against an Atalanta side who reached the quarter-finals last season, Jota was brought into the starting line-up in place of Roberto Firmino and required just 16 minutes to open the scoring.
Another emphatic finish allowed the 2019 Champions League winners to double their lead before the break, and Mohamed Salah then broke away to get the third just after the restart.
Salah set up Sadio Mane for Liverpool's fourth before Jota got his hat-trick goal as the Premier League champions recorded their biggest win in Europe since beating Porto 5-0 away in February 2018. With three wins from three, Liverpool are well on course to top Group D, with Ajax and Atalanta both five points back.
Ajax won 2-1 away to Midtjylland in Denmark, as Brazilian youngster Antony opened the scoring in the first minute and Dusan Tadic netted from an indirect free-kick inside the box soon after. Anders Dreyer got one back for the hosts, who remain pointless.
French forward Plea had earlier scored a hat-trick as Gladbach claimed a stunning 6-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in Kiev, the German side's biggest European triumph since their 1970s heyday.
The unfortunate Valeriy Bondar scored an own goal, with Ramy Bensebaini and Lars Stindl also scoring as Gladbach went top of Group B, a point clear of Shakhtar and Real Madrid.
Real, the 13-time European champions, ran out 3-2 winners in a dramatic encounter with Inter behind closed doors at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium, as Vinicius Junior set up his fellow Brazilian substitute Rodrygo to lash in the decisive goal 10 minutes from time.
