Holders Real Madrid maintained top spot in Group D despite being held to a 1-1 draw by English opposition Tottenham Hotspur in their UEFA Champions League (UCL) clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernebeu.

The North London club stunned the home fans by taking the lead after in-form Harry Kane’s shot deflected off Raphael Varane into the net but the champions bounced back just before halftime through a familiar route. Ivorian defender Serge Aurier brought down Toni Kroos paving the way for Cristiano Ronaldo to score his 5th goal of the European season. Both sides had chances to win the game in the second half but Tottenham goalie Hugo Lloris and his Madrid counterpart Keylor Navas were at their best to keep the scoreline at 1-1 till the end of the game.

In the other game in Group D, German side Borussia Dortmund are on the brink of elimination after they played a disappointing 1-1 draw with lowly APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus.

Liverpool have leapfrogged Spanish outfit Sevilla at the top of Group A after a seven-star performance against Maribor. Summer signing Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino both scored two goals each in addition to further goals from Philippe Coutinho, substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Sevilla lost their former position and are now down to third following a surprising 5-1 loss to Spartak Moscow in Russia. Dutch international Quincy Promes was the hero for Spartak as he got two goals and two assists to take his tally to 11 goals in all competitions.

Manchester City maintained their perfect record in Group B with a 2-1 win over Italian side Napoli at the Eithad Stadium. The in-form duo of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus scored as City raced to a 2-0 lead with just 13 minutes gone. Maurizio Sarri’s men however bounced back into the game rather than capitulate in the face of the fearsome City attack.

Dries Mertens missed a great opportunity to pull one back from the penalty spot after Kyle Walker was penalised in the box but his penalty was saved by the impressive City goalkeeper Ederson. They were handed another chance from the spot following Fernandinho’s rash challenge and Guinea midfielder Amadou Diawara duly took advantage to pull a goal back for Napoli but that proved to be a consolation as City held on to take the maximum points at stake.

The other game in Group B saw Ukrainian side Shakthar Donetsk beat hosts and the group’s weeping boys Feyenoord 2-1 to put pressure on leaders Manchester City.

Besiktas became the first Turkish side to win their first three games in the group stage after strike Cenk Tosun scored twice in a 2-1 comeback victory over last year’s semifinalists AS Monaco in Group C. RB Leipzig leapfrogged FC Porto into second place behind Besiktas after they defeated the Portuguese outfit 3-2 at home.

Matchday 3 Results:

Group A

Maribor 0-7 Liverpool

Spartak Moscow 5-1 Sevilla

Group B

Manchester City 2-1 Napoli

Feyenoord 1-2 Shakthar Donetsk

Group C

RB Leipzig 3-2 FC Porto

AS Monaco 1-2 Besiktas

Group D

APOEL Nicosia 1-1 Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur