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09/08 17:14 CDT Real Madrid and Man City kick off with wins as Champions League
returns
Real Madrid and Man City kick off with wins as Champions League returns
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland both found the net in the Champions League as
Real Madrid and Manchester City kicked off their campaigns with wins Tuesday.
Mbappe gave record 15-time champion Madrid an early lead en route to 2-1
victory over Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Haaland scored both goals as 2023 winner City beat Porto 2-0.
Madrid and City are expected to be among the main challengers to back-to-back
defending champion Paris Saint-Germain this season and both will be relying on
their star strikers.
Mbappe's goal after 14 minutes was his 71st in European club soccer's top
competition and saw him move level with Madrid great Raul in fifth place on the
all-time scorers list. Haaland took his tally to 59 in 59 appearances in the
Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2, and Real Betis won by the same score at
Lille.
Aston Villa also won 3-2 over Club Brugge, and AEK Athens sealed a 1-0 win over
LASK.
PSG begins its campaign on Wednesday against Slovan Bratislava.
Classic Mourinho Jose Mourinho made a winning return to the Champions League with Madrid despite Inter dominating possession. It was a classic Mourinho performance as Madrid capitalized on two first-half errors by the visitors. When Inter lost possession deep in its own half Brahim Diaz slid in Mbappe, who fired low past Josep Martinez. The Inter goalkeeper was then guilty of indecision when Federico Valverde closed him down in his own area and poked the ball into an empty net. Inter, which ended the game with 61% possession, set up a tense finish when Carlos Augusto scored in the 77th. "There's so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy --- it could easily have ended 7-6," Mourinho told broadcaster Movistar. Mourinho won his second Champions League title with Inter in 2010 and is aiming to join the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane by lifting the trophy for a third time.
Unstoppable Haaland With five goals in his last three games, Haaland is on fire. And it could have been even more if not for Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa's first-half heroics. Haaland eventually found the breakthrough at Estadio do Dragao with a header two minutes into the second half. He side-footed City's second in stoppage time to make certain of the win and ensure new coach Enzo Maresca's 100% start continued. "We have to learn. Enzo demands a lot from us and we have to demand a lot from each other," Haaland told Amazon Prime. "We have to win games because at Man City, you have to win trophies. That's what we have to do at this club."
Villa kicks off with a win Aston Villa put its domestic problems behind it with a win over Club Brugge. Victory in Belgium ended Villa's winless and goalless start to its 2026-27 season, after early struggles in the Premier League. John McGinn recorded the first goal of the Champions League campaign with a sweeping low shot from an angle in the 11th minute. Hugo Vetlesen equalized for Brugge, but Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson put Villa 3-1 up by the break. Nicolo Tresoldi scored for the home team with a 61st-minute penalty, but Villa held on for the win. Villa coach Unai Emery will hope victory kickstarts his team's season after the summer departures of star players Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez. His much-changed team lost to Brighton and Arsenal in the Premier League and picked up its first point of the season with a goalless draw against newly promoted Hull on Saturday. It had recorded only one shot on target in those three games.
Dortmund's Karetsas hospitalized Borussia Dortmund teenager Konstantinos Karetsas was taken to the hospital after slumping to the turf 25 minutes into his Champions League debut. "Konstantinos Karetsas had to leave the field due to circulatory problems," Dortmund said in a statement. "Kosta is doing well under the circumstances and is on his way to the hospital for further tests." Serhou Guirassy scored three goals --- two for Dortmund and one in his own net --- in a frantic finish against Villarreal. Guirassy gave Dortmund a 2-1 lead in the 80th and then struck again from the penalty spot five minutes later. An added-time own goal made it 3-2.
Parrott strikes again It has been an eventful few days for Troy Parrott. The Ireland international scored his first goal for new club Betis with a late winner against Madrid on Friday and he was on target again with the decisive goal in the 3-2 win in Lille. AEK Athens beat LASK 1-0 thanks to Razvan Marin's brilliant first-half free kick. ___ James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson ___ See AP's full soccer coverage here
Classic Mourinho Jose Mourinho made a winning return to the Champions League with Madrid despite Inter dominating possession. It was a classic Mourinho performance as Madrid capitalized on two first-half errors by the visitors. When Inter lost possession deep in its own half Brahim Diaz slid in Mbappe, who fired low past Josep Martinez. The Inter goalkeeper was then guilty of indecision when Federico Valverde closed him down in his own area and poked the ball into an empty net. Inter, which ended the game with 61% possession, set up a tense finish when Carlos Augusto scored in the 77th. "There's so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy --- it could easily have ended 7-6," Mourinho told broadcaster Movistar. Mourinho won his second Champions League title with Inter in 2010 and is aiming to join the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane by lifting the trophy for a third time.
Unstoppable Haaland With five goals in his last three games, Haaland is on fire. And it could have been even more if not for Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa's first-half heroics. Haaland eventually found the breakthrough at Estadio do Dragao with a header two minutes into the second half. He side-footed City's second in stoppage time to make certain of the win and ensure new coach Enzo Maresca's 100% start continued. "We have to learn. Enzo demands a lot from us and we have to demand a lot from each other," Haaland told Amazon Prime. "We have to win games because at Man City, you have to win trophies. That's what we have to do at this club."
Villa kicks off with a win Aston Villa put its domestic problems behind it with a win over Club Brugge. Victory in Belgium ended Villa's winless and goalless start to its 2026-27 season, after early struggles in the Premier League. John McGinn recorded the first goal of the Champions League campaign with a sweeping low shot from an angle in the 11th minute. Hugo Vetlesen equalized for Brugge, but Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson put Villa 3-1 up by the break. Nicolo Tresoldi scored for the home team with a 61st-minute penalty, but Villa held on for the win. Villa coach Unai Emery will hope victory kickstarts his team's season after the summer departures of star players Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez. His much-changed team lost to Brighton and Arsenal in the Premier League and picked up its first point of the season with a goalless draw against newly promoted Hull on Saturday. It had recorded only one shot on target in those three games.
Dortmund's Karetsas hospitalized Borussia Dortmund teenager Konstantinos Karetsas was taken to the hospital after slumping to the turf 25 minutes into his Champions League debut. "Konstantinos Karetsas had to leave the field due to circulatory problems," Dortmund said in a statement. "Kosta is doing well under the circumstances and is on his way to the hospital for further tests." Serhou Guirassy scored three goals --- two for Dortmund and one in his own net --- in a frantic finish against Villarreal. Guirassy gave Dortmund a 2-1 lead in the 80th and then struck again from the penalty spot five minutes later. An added-time own goal made it 3-2.
Parrott strikes again It has been an eventful few days for Troy Parrott. The Ireland international scored his first goal for new club Betis with a late winner against Madrid on Friday and he was on target again with the decisive goal in the 3-2 win in Lille. AEK Athens beat LASK 1-0 thanks to Razvan Marin's brilliant first-half free kick. ___ James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson ___ See AP's full soccer coverage here
