Holder Madrid, PSG, Man City Get Big Wins In Champion League Opening Matches

Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland both struck doubles to break Champions League records as Paris, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Dortmund made strong starts.

Paris, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Dortmund, Benfica, and Shakhtar all recorded opening-night UEFA Champions League wins, while Dinamo Zagreb stunned Chelsea in Croatia.

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 Oršić skipped clear to score the only goal early on.

The home side almost doubled their lead but Kepa pushed Stefan Ristovski’s shot onto the bar. Chelsea finished strongly, Reece James hitting the post, but it was not to be for the 2021 winners.

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid

The holders began their defense 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.

Sevilla 0-4 Man City

Haaland continues his charmed start to life at 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. Rúben Dias sealed the biggest win of the night in added time.

Paris 2-1 Juventus

Mbappé scored twice in the opening twenty-two minutes to set Paris 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 equalizer by clawing away Dušan Vlahović’s header.

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 leveled 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.

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 score line a truer reflection of the one-way traffic for much of the sun-drenched early evening, with Copenhagen’s disappointment with a first-ever Match day one defeat compounded when Rasmus Falk’s late effort was chalked off for offside.

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 capitalized 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.

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 that flew past Josh Cohen and in via the underside of the crossbar.