UCL: Real Madrid, Man City, Villa, Dortmund win on opening night
by Moronfolu Adeyemi · The Eagle OnlineJose Mourinho got off to a winning start on his return to the Champions League as Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 on Tuesday, while Erling Haaland scored twice in Manchester City’s 2-0 victory at Porto.
There were also wins for Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis and AEK Athens as the opening matchday of this season’s league phase got underway across three nights.
Record 15-time European champions Real Madrid brought back Mourinho for a second spell in charge, and his first game back in the competition came against Inter, the side he led to Champions League glory in 2010.
Madrid were two goals ahead midway through the first half at the Bernabeu after two defensive errors from Inter, with Yann Bisseck at fault as Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring on his 99th appearance in the competition.
Mbappe has now scored 71 Champions League goals, equalling the tally of Real legend Raul.
The home side doubled their lead when Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez tried to turn away from Fede Valverde inside his own six-yard box, only for the Uruguayan to tackle him and score.
Carlos Augusto pulled one back for Inter, but Real held on for the victory.
Mourinho said: “It was a crazy game. A game that finished 2-1 could have finished 7-6 without any problems.”
In Portugal, City defeated Porto 2-0 through a second-half brace from Haaland, who opened the scoring two minutes after the restart when he headed in Enzo Fernandez’s cross.
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The Norwegian sealed the points in stoppage time and has now scored 59 goals in 59 Champions League appearances.
Fernandez said: “Erling Haaland is an animal. He is a beast, so every time he is on the pitch, I’m going to look for him, and hopefully give him many more assists.”
It was a fourth straight victory in all competitions for City, Champions League winners in 2023, whose next European game will be at home to title-holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Aston Villa, last season’s Europa League winners, also put their poor start to the campaign behind them with a 3-2 away victory over Belgian champions Club Brugge.
John McGinn curled into the far corner to open the scoring for Unai Emery’s side, who have not yet scored a goal in three games in the Premier League season.
Hugo Vetlesen equalised for the hosts, but Emiliano Buendia quickly restored Villa’s lead before Nicolas Jackson made it 3-1 two minutes before half-time.
The summer signing ran through to score his first Villa goal after home goalkeeper Yann Sommer came flying out of his box and failed to get to the ball.
Nicolo Tresoldi pulled another goal back just after the hour mark following a handball by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Tresoldi later hit the post, but Villa held on.
Emery said: “We took one step forward today and it was very, very important for our confidence and stability.”
Dortmund also began their campaign with a 3-2 home win against Villarreal, with Serhou Guirassy playing a central role.
Renato Veiga’s own goal gave Dortmund the lead early in the second half, but Santiago Mourino headed in the equaliser for the Spanish side.
Guirassy restored Dortmund’s lead with 10 minutes left before converting a penalty for his second and his team’s third.
He then completed a bizarre own goal when a Gregor Kobel save ricocheted back off Guirassy’s face and went in.
In France, Real Betis came from behind twice to beat Lille 3-2, with Troy Parrott scoring the decisive goal five days after netting the winner against Madrid.
Marc Bartra twice equalised for Betis, cancelling out goals from Japan’s Ayase Ueda and Brazil defender Alexsandro for Davide Ancelotti’s Lille.
Parrott struck in the 53rd minute to complete the comeback as Betis celebrated a Champions League victory on their return to the competition after a 21-year absence.
Lille finished with 10 men after Ethan Mbappe, younger brother of Kylian, was sent off.
In the night’s other game, Greek champions AEK Athens beat Austrian title winners LASK 1-0 through a stunning Razvan Marin free-kick.
UEFA Champions League Tuesday’s results
Porto 0-2 Man City
B Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal
Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan
Lille 2-3 Real Betis
AEK Athens 1-0 LASK
Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
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