French football superstar Kylian Mbappe and Norwegian football sensation Erling Haaland both struck doubles to break Champions League records as PSG , Manchester City, Real Madrid and Dortmund made strong starts.
PSG, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Benfica and Shakhtar all recorded opening-night UEFA Champions League wins, while Dinamo Zagreb stunned Chelsea in Croatia.
PSG, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Benfica and Shakhtar all recorded opening-night UEFA Champions League wins, while Dinamo Zagreb stunned Chelsea in Croatia.
Group E
Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea
Mislav Oršić was the match-winner as Dinamo stunned Chelsea. It was the Blues’ first ever game against a Croatian side and it proved one to forget as Orsic skipped clear to score the only goal early on. The home side almost doubled their lead but Kepa pushed Stefan Ristovski’s shot on to the bar. Chelsea finished strongly, Reece James hitting the post, but it was not to be for the 2021 winners.
Orsic has scored five goals in seven appearances against English opposition.
14/09: AC Milan vs Dinamo, Chelsea vs Salzburg
Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan
Two fine goals meant the points were shared in an entertaining encounter. The game started at pace, and the home side took the lead through Noah Okafor, who skipped past Fikayo Tomori and fired under Mike Maignan. Milan levelled when a fine team move was finished by Alexis Saelemaekers. The second half lacked the verve of the first, but Fernando blazed over for Salzburg and Milan almost won it when Rafael Leão’s deflected effort hit the post in added time.
Milan have lost only one of their 15 Matchday 1 fixtures, while Salzburg are unbeaten in their five.
Group F
Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid
The holders began their defence with a strong second-half showing in Glasgow. Celtic came closest to opening the scoring before the break when Callum McGregor’s fierce drive struck the post, but Los Blancos regrouped and two goals in the space of five minutes through Vinícius Júnior and Luka Modrić turned the tide. Eden Hazard, a first-half substitute for Karim Benzema, added a third with a close-range finish following a neat move.
Key stat: Modrić (36 years and 362 days) is the oldest player to score for Real Madrid in the European Cup since a 38-year-old Ferenc Puskás in September 1965.
Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar
Shakhtar began their campaign with a win after a fine performance in Germany. After containing early pressure, they went ahead when Marian Shved capitalised on Péter Gulácsi’s mistake to roll into an empty net from distance. The hosts drew level through Mohamed Simakan’s rising finish, yet Shved stuck again almost immediately to restore the lead before a classy third on the break from Mykhaylo Mudryk. Lassina Traoré added late gloss.
Key stat: Shakhtar’s win is just their second in 11 attempts against German clubs in the Champions League and ends their run of seven games without a win in the competition.
Group G
Sevilla 0-4 Man City
Haaland continued his charmed start to life at Manchester City as he scored twice in an impressive victory in Spain. Haaland took his tally to nine goals in his last five games midway through the first half, tapping in from Kevin de Bruyne’s cross, and after Phil Foden made it 2-0 before the hour the Norwegian struck again. Ruben Dias sealed the biggest win of the night in added time.
Haaland has taken just 20 appearances to score 25 Champions League goals, eclipsing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous record of 30 games. The Norwegian is also the youngest to reach the landmark – surpassing Mbappe by 33 days.
Dortmund 3-0 Copenhagen
Two goals towards the end of the first half from Marco Reus and Raphaël Guerreiro set the dominant German side on course for a comfortable win. Jude Bellingham’s late strike afforded the scoreline a truer reflection of the one-way traffic for much of the sun-drenched early evening, with Copenhagen’s disappointment with a first ever Matchday 1 defeat compounded when Rasmus Falk’s late effort was chalked off for offside.
Goalkeeper Alexander Meyer marked his first Dortmund appearance with a clean sheet. The 31-year-old, one of two thirty-somethings making their Champions League debuts in the German side’s line-up, has never played a top-flight game.
14/09: Man City vs Dortmund, Copenhagen vs Sevilla
Group H
Paris 2-1 Juventus
Mbappe scored twice in the opening 22 minutes to set PSG on course for victory. The France striker volleyed Neymar’s deft chip beyond Mattia Perrin and added a second with a clinical first-time strike to complete a dazzling passage of passing. Substitute Weston McKennie headed a 53rd-minute reply and Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Juventus an equaliser by clawing away Dušan Vlahović’s header.
At 23 years and 260 days, Mbappé is the youngest player to reach 35 Champions League goals. He surpasses Lionel Messi by 47 days; Cristiano Ronaldo was 27 years and 59 days.
Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa
Two goals in five second-half minutes were enough to take Benfica past Maccabi Haifa in Lisbon. The hosts dominated the first half but it was not until five minutes into the second that dangerman Rafa Silva tucked in a close-range volley from Grimaldo’s cross. Five minutes later Grimaldo turned goalscorer, unleashing a fizzing drive which flew past Josh Cohen and in via the underside of the crossbar.
This was Benfica’s first Matchday 1 win in the UEFA Champions League group stage in their last six attempts.
Bengali