UEFA’s Round One delivered big moments across Europe last night, with some teams making strong statements early in the group stage. From surprise draws to dominant wins, here are the top highlights:
Real Madrid came from behind to beat Marseille 2-1 at home. Marseille opened the scoring early with a goal from Timothy Weah, but Kylian Mbappé converted two penalties—one in each half—to turn the game around. Madrid were down to ten men late in the match and had a red card, but they held on for the win.
Bayern Munich gave Chelsea a lesson in attacking football. Harry Kane struck twice, including a penalty, helping Bayern to a 3-1 victory. Chelsea managed to pull one back, but Bayern’s pressure and experience proved decisive.
Barcelona traveled to Newcastle United and left with a 2-1 win. Marcus Rashford was the hero, scoring both for Barcelona—first with a header and then with a long-range shot. Newcastle got a goal late through Anthony Gordon, but Barça kept control to take the points.
Paris Saint-Germain impressed as well, thumping Atalanta 4-0. PSG set the tone early and never let up. They controlled possession, created many chances, and punished Atalanta’s mistakes. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stood out among the scorers for PSG.
Inter Milan had a good night on the road, beating Ajax 2-0. Inter looked sharp and efficient; they didn’t leave much room for Ajax to come back into the game.
Sporting CP dominated Kairat Almaty 4-1 in Lisbon. After a tight first half, Sporting pulled away with a strong second-half showing. A quick set of goals after halftime pushed the result beyond doubt.
Tottenham Hotspur bagged their first Champions League points of the season with a narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal. The only goal came early from an own goal by Villarreal after a cross caused confusion in their defence. After that, Spurs defended well to preserve the lead.
Other notable matches included:
- Club Brugge beat Monaco 4-1, with Brugge scoring several well-worked goals and taking control early.
- Copenhagen and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 2-2 draw in a match of comebacks, with Leverkusen fighting from behind twice.
- Slavia Praha and Bodø/Glimt shared the points in a 2-2 draw, with late action securing the draw.
The round also featured a record-breaking moment: Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 goals in Champions League history, doing it in just 49 matches while playing for Manchester City.
