The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League got off to an exciting start on Tuesday night, with six matches producing 16 goals as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Aston Villa and AEK Athens all secured victories.
The standout fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu saw Real Madrid defeat Inter Milan 2-1, while Manchester City recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory away to Porto. Real Betis came from behind twice to beat Lille 3-2, and Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2 in a dramatic encounter.
Aston Villa also secured an important 3-2 away win over Club Brugge, while AEK Athens opened their campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over LASK Linz.
Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan
Real Madrid survived a difficult test against Inter Milan to begin their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring after pressing Inter defender Yann Bisseck into a costly error. Brahim Díaz picked up the loose ball before finding Mbappé, who calmly finished past the goalkeeper.
Federico Valverde doubled Madrid’s advantage after Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer lost possession while attempting to play out from inside his area, allowing the Uruguayan midfielder to finish.
Inter dominated possession and created several opportunities, but Thibaut Courtois produced a series of outstanding saves to keep Madrid ahead. Carlos Augusto eventually pulled one back in the 77th minute from a Lautaro Martínez cross, but Madrid held on.
Courtois was arguably the decisive player, making a crucial late save from Henrikh Mkhitaryan to preserve the victory. Jude Bellingham also came close to scoring before half-time, while Hakan Çalhanoğlu tested Courtois with a dangerous free-kick.
Porto 0-2 Manchester City
Manchester City made a strong start to their European campaign with a commanding 2-0 victory over Porto.
The English champions dominated possession and produced 20 shots, including 10 on target, while Porto failed to register a shot throughout the match.
Erling Haaland finally broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart, heading Enzo Fernández’s lofted cross into the top corner.
The Norwegian striker completed his brace in stoppage time when he collected a pass from Rayan Aït-Nouri before finding the bottom corner.
City controlled the match for long periods and goalkeeper Ederson had relatively little to do as Enzo Maresca’s side extended their winning start to the season.
Lille 2-3 Real Betis
Real Betis produced one of the night’s most impressive comebacks, defeating Lille 3-2 in France.
Lille took an early lead in the 12th minute before Marc Bartra levelled for Betis in the 34th minute following a cross from Pablo Fornals.
Alexsandro restored Lille’s advantage three minutes later, but Bartra struck again shortly after half-time, heading home from Isco’s free-kick.
Troy Parrott then completed Betis’ comeback in the 54th minute, finishing after an individual run to put the Spanish side ahead for the first time.
Lille’s hopes of a comeback were further damaged when Ethan Mbappé was sent off following a VAR review for an elbow on Natan.
Bartra’s two goals and Parrott’s winner ensured Betis marked their return to the Champions League after 21 years with a memorable away victory.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal
Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2 in another thrilling encounter in Germany.
Dortmund went ahead in the 53rd minute when Renato Veiga’s attempted clearance ended up in his own net.
Villarreal responded through Santiago Mouriño, who headed home in the 66th minute to restore parity.
Serhou Guirassy then took control of the contest, restoring Dortmund’s lead in the 80th minute before converting a penalty four minutes later after being fouled.
The drama continued in stoppage time when Guirassy inadvertently scored an own goal while attempting to help his team defensively, but Dortmund managed to hold on for all three points.
The match was also overshadowed by concern for 18-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas, who collapsed during the first half and was taken to hospital for further assessment.
Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
Aston Villa secured a hard-fought victory in Belgium, defeating Club Brugge 3-2.
John McGinn opened the scoring for Villa in the 11th minute after a fine move involving Pau Torres.
Club Brugge quickly responded through Hugo Vetlesen, but Villa restored their lead through Emiliano Buendía following a João Gomes assist.
Nicolas Jackson then extended Villa’s advantage before half-time, with Torres again providing the assist.
Club Brugge fought back strongly after the interval and Nicolò Tresoldi reduced the deficit from the penalty spot in the 61st minute.
The hosts continued to apply pressure, but Villa goalkeeper Suzuki made important saves to protect Unai Emery’s side and secure three points on the road. Pau Torres was one of the outstanding performers with two assists.
AEK Athens 1-0 LASK Linz
AEK Athens began their Champions League campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Austrian side LASK.
The decisive moment came in the 21st minute when Romanian midfielder Razvan Marin produced a superb curling free-kick from outside the penalty area, sending the ball into the top corner beyond the goalkeeper.
LASK were unable to find a response as AEK protected their lead to claim all three points in their opening fixture.
Standout players of the night
Erling Haaland – Manchester City: Scored twice against Porto and was the match-winner for City.
Thibaut Courtois – Real Madrid: Produced several crucial saves as Madrid held off Inter’s sustained pressure.
Marc Bartra – Real Betis: Scored twice to inspire Betis’ comeback against Lille.
Serhou Guirassy – Borussia Dortmund: Scored twice, including a penalty, although he also inadvertently scored an own goal late in the game.
Pau Torres – Aston Villa: Provided two assists in Villa’s 3-2 win over Club Brugge.
Kylian Mbappé – Real Madrid: Opened the scoring against Inter and was a constant threat.
Federico Valverde – Real Madrid: Added Madrid’s second goal with a composed finish.
Troy Parrott – Real Betis: Scored the decisive goal to complete Betis’ comeback.
Razvan Marin – AEK Athens: Produced the match-winning free-kick against LASK.
Tuesday’s results
AEK Athens 1-0 LASK Linz
Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal
Porto 0-2 Manchester City
Lille 2-3 Real Betis
Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan
The opening night underlined the unpredictability of the Champions League, with six entertaining matches producing dramatic comebacks, individual brilliance and late tension. Real Madrid’s narrow win over Inter and Haaland’s brace for Manchester City were among the major talking points, while Betis, Villa and Dortmund also made impressive winning starts.
