Real Madrid and Manchester City Begin Champions League Campaigns With Wins
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
Real Madrid began their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan, while Manchester City secured a comfortable 2-0 win against Porto on the opening night of the competition’s league phase.
Real Madrid’s victory also marked a winning return to the Champions League for manager Jose Mourinho, who has taken charge of the Spanish club for a second time.
Real Madrid Beat Inter Milan
Real Madrid made a strong start at the Santiago Bernabeu, taking a two-goal lead during the first half.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring after Inter defender Yann Bisseck was unable to deal with the situation in the box. The goal took Mbappe’s Champions League tally to 71, level with Real Madrid legend Raul.
Fede Valverde then doubled Madrid’s advantage after taking possession from Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez inside the penalty area.
Inter reduced the deficit through Carlos Augusto, but Real Madrid managed to maintain their lead and secure all three points.
Mourinho described the match as an entertaining contest and praised both teams for their attacking approach.
Haaland Scores Twice for Manchester City
Manchester City also started their European campaign with a victory, defeating Portuguese champions Porto 2-0 away from home.
Erling Haaland scored both goals for the English side.
The Norwegian striker opened the scoring shortly after halftime when he headed in a cross from Enzo Fernandez.
Haaland completed his brace during stoppage time to seal the result for City. The two goals took his Champions League record to an impressive 59 goals in 59 appearances.
The result gave Manchester City their fourth consecutive win in all competitions. Their next Champions League match will be at home against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Aston Villa Earn Important Win
Aston Villa began their European campaign with a 3-2 away victory over Club Brugge.
John McGinn opened the scoring before Hugo Vetlesen equalised for the Belgian side.
Emiliano Buendia restored Villa’s lead before summer signing Nicolas Jackson added another goal shortly before halftime.
Club Brugge reduced the deficit through Nicolo Tresoldi after the break and later hit the post, but Villa held on for an important victory.
Manager Unai Emery said the result could provide his team with greater confidence after a difficult start to the domestic season.
Dortmund Defeat Villarreal
Borussia Dortmund also collected three points after defeating Villarreal 3-2 at home.
Renato Veiga’s own goal gave Dortmund the lead early in the second half, but Santiago Mourino equalised for Villarreal.
Serhou Guirassy restored Dortmund’s advantage and later converted a penalty to make it 3-1.
Villarreal pulled another goal back through a late own goal, but Dortmund secured the win.
Betis Win on Champions League Return
Real Betis made a successful return to the Champions League after a 21-year absence, defeating Lille 3-2 in France.
Ayase Ueda gave Lille the lead before Marc Bartra equalised for Betis.
Alexsandro restored the home side’s advantage, but Bartra scored again before Troy Parrott completed the comeback with the winning goal early in the second half.
Lille finished the match with 10 players after Ethan Mbappe was sent off.
In the other opening-night fixture, AEK Athens defeated LASK 1-0, with Razvan Marin scoring the only goal through a free-kick.
The Champions League opening round will continue over the next two nights, with several of Europe’s leading clubs beginning their campaigns.
