Real Madrid punished two costly Inter Milan mistakes to win their Champions League opener 2-1 on Tuesday, with Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde scoring and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois keeping the visitors at bay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Erling Haaland struck twice after halftime as Manchester City won 2-0 at Porto, extending coach Enzo Maresca’s winning start following three successive Premier League victories.
Real Betis twice came from behind to beat Lille 3-2 in
France, with defender Marc Bartra scoring twice before Troy
Parrott grabbed the winner. Lille later had Ethan Mbappe sent
off.
Serhou Guirassy’s late double secured Borussia Dortmund a
3-2 home victory over Villarreal after the Spanish side had
cancelled out Renato Veiga’s own goal.
Earlier, Aston Villa held off Club Brugge to win 3-2 in
Belgium, helped by two Pau Torres assists, while Razvan Marin’s
free kick earned AEK Athens a 1-0 home victory over LASK.
Real coach Jose Mourinho faced his former club at the
stadium where he guided Inter to Champions League glory against
Bayern Munich in 2010, but the visitors threatened to spoil his
evening.
Courtois repeatedly came to Real’s rescue against an Inter
side who arguably had the better of the contest, controlling
more than 64% of possession but paying for two costly defensive
errors. The Belgian made a string of saves throughout the match
to help preserve the hosts’ narrow victory.
Real went ahead when Mbappe pressured Yann Bisseck into
losing possession and Brahim Diaz collected the loose ball
before feeding the French striker who sent it beneath the
goalkeeper.
Courtois then saved Hakan Calhanoglu’s powerful free kick
before Inter goalkeeper Martinez gifted Real their second,
attempting to dribble past Valverde inside his goal area and
allowing the midfielder to poke the ball home.
Jude Bellingham missed a close-range chance before halftime
and Inter maintained their pressure after the break. Carlos
Augusto converted Lautaro Martinez’s low cross in the 76th
minute but Real held on.
“I think we played a great first half but I don’t deserve
the MVP award today – Courtois deserved it because he saved us
with an extraordinary performance,” Valverde told Spanish
broadcaster Movistar Plus.
City controlled possession against Porto and finished with
20 shots, including 10 on target, while the hosts failed to
register a single attempt. Maresca’s side had more than 70%
possession and forced Porto’s goalkeeper into six saves before
halftime but had to wait until after the break for the
breakthrough.
Haaland broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart,
heading Enzo Fernandez’s lofted cross into the top corner. He
added his second goal a minute into stoppage time, finding the
bottom corner from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s pass.
“I think we could’ve scored more goals, especially in the
first half but overall I think we deserved to win the game,”
Maresca told Amazon Prime.
“We didn’t concede a lot. It’s normal to come here and
concede some chances because it’s normal, so overall happy with
the performance.”
Betis trailed to Lille’s 12th-minute opener before Bartra
equalised from Fornals’s cross. Alexsandro restored the hosts’
advantage three minutes later following a corner.
Bartra headed in Isco’s free kick in the 49th minute and
Parrott completed the turnaround five minutes later with a low
strike after an individual run. Mbappe was subsequently
dismissed following a VAR review for elbowing Natan.
Dortmund went ahead through Veiga’s attempted clearance in
the 53rd minute before Villarreal levelled with a close-range
header in the 66th. Guirassy restored the lead from Fabio
Silva’s pass in the 80th and converted a penalty four minutes
later after being fouled, before scoring an own goal in added
time while trying to help in defence.
In Belgium, Torres set up John McGinn to put Aston Villa
ahead against Brugge in the 11th minute but Hugo Vetlesen
equalised for the hosts eight minutes later.
Villa responded swiftly, with Emiliano Buendia restoring
their lead from a Joao Gomes assist before Nicolas Jackson made
it 3-1 just before halftime, Torres again supplying the final
pass.
Brugge dominated after the break and Nicolo Tresoldi pulled
a goal back with a penalty in the 61st minute but Villa
protected their advantage to secure all three points.
Marin provided the decisive moment for AEK in the 21st
minute against Austria’s LASK, curling a free kick from outside
the penalty area on the left-hand side into the top corner
beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Source: Khaleej Times