Champions League: Real Madrid, Man City and Dortmund Start With Wins in Thrilling Opening Night
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Real Betis all opened their 2026/27 Champions League campaigns with victories on a thrilling first night of league-phase action.
Champions League: Real Madrid, Man City and Dortmund Start With Wins in Thrilling Opening Night
The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League got off to a spectacular start on Tuesday night, with six matches producing plenty of goals, comebacks and late drama.
Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, Manchester City beat Porto 2–0, while Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis and Aston Villa all claimed entertaining victories. AEK Athens also secured three points with a narrow 1–0 win over LASK.
Real Madrid 2–1 Inter: Mbappé and Valverde give Madrid the win
The biggest game of the night took place in Madrid, where Real Madrid defeated Inter 2–1.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring before Federico Valverde doubled the hosts' advantage. Inter responded through Carlos Augusto in the second half, but Madrid managed to hold on for all three points.
Inter actually enjoyed long spells of possession and created several opportunities, but Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a superb performance to keep his team ahead.
The Belgian goalkeeper made several important saves, including a crucial stop late in the match, as José Mourinho's Madrid survived a difficult second half.
Final score: Real Madrid 2–1 Inter
Porto 0–2 Manchester City: Haaland strikes twice
Manchester City began their European campaign with a comfortable 2–0 victory away to Porto.
After a goalless first half, Erling Haaland opened the scoring shortly after the break before adding his second goal in the final minutes.
The Norwegian striker once again proved decisive in front of goal as City started their Champions League campaign with three points.
Final score: Porto 0–2 Manchester City
Dortmund 3–2 Villarreal: Guirassy decides a thriller
Borussia Dortmund were involved in another five-goal thriller, eventually beating Villarreal 3–2 at Signal Iduna Park.
The German side took the lead through a Renato Veiga own goal before Villarreal equalised through Logan Mouriño.
Serhou Guirassy then took control of the match, scoring twice in the space of five minutes to put Dortmund 3–1 ahead.
Villarreal received a late lifeline when Guirassy scored an own goal in stoppage time, but Dortmund held on for victory.
Final score: Borussia Dortmund 3–2 Villarreal
