There were goals for Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland; and wins for Real Madrid and Manchester City as the Champions League returned Tuesday for a new season.
Mbappe gave record 15-time champion Madrid an early lead en route to 2-1 victory over Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Haaland scored both goals as 2023 winner City beat Porto 2-0.
Madrid and City are expected to be among the main challengers to back-to-back defending champion Paris Saint-Germain this season, and each club will be relying on its star strikers.
Mbappe’s goal after 14 minutes was his 71st in European club soccer’s top continental competition and saw him move level with Madrid great Raul in fifth place on the all-time scorers list. Haaland took his tally to 59 in 59 appearances in the Champions League.
Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2, and Real Betis won by the same score at Lille.
Aston Villa also won 3-2 over Club Brugge, and AEK Athens had a 1-0 win over LASK.
PSG begins its campaign Wednesday against Slovan Bratislava.
Classic Mourinho
Jose Mourinho made a winning return to the Champions League as head coach of Madrid despite Inter dominating possession.
It was a classic Mourinho-inspired performance as Madrid capitalized on two first-half errors by the visitors.
When Inter lost possession deep in its own half Brahim Diaz slid in Mbappe, who fired low past Josep Martinez.
The Inter goalkeeper was then guilty of indecision when Federico Valverde closed him down in his own area and poked the ball into an empty net.
Inter, which ended the game with 61% possession, set up a tense finish when Carlos Augusto scored in the 77th.
“There’s so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy — it could easily have ended 7-6,” Mourinho told broadcaster Movistar.
Mourinho won his second Champions League title with Inter in 2010 and is aiming to join the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Zinedine Zidane by lifting the trophy for a third time.
Also Read: Baker Mayfield extension: NFL Insider confirms Buccaneers QB’s three-year deal, reveals key contract details
Unstoppable Haaland
With five goals in his last three games, Haaland is in hot form. And it could have been even more if not for Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s first-half performance.
Haaland eventually found the breakthrough at Estadio do Dragao with a header two minutes into the second half. He side-footed City’s second in stoppage time to make certain of the win and ensure new coach Enzo Maresca’s 100% start continued.
“We have to learn. Enzo demands a lot from us and we have to demand a lot from each other,” Haaland told Amazon Prime. “We have to win games because at Man City, you have to win trophies. That’s what we have to do at this club.”
Source: HT – Sports
