The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League burst into life on Tuesday night as six matches produced 20 goals, dramatic comebacks, five-goal thrillers and a red card, with Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Aston Villa, Real Betis and AEK Athens all beginning their league-phase campaigns with victories.
The night produced four matches decided by a single goal, while Dortmund, Aston Villa and Real Betis were involved in entertaining 3-2 victories. Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1, Manchester City beat Porto 2-0, Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2, Aston Villa overcame Club Brugge 3-2, Real Betis came from behind to defeat Lille 3-2 and AEK Athens secured a narrow 1-0 victory over LASK.
Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan.
Real Madrid survived a late Inter Milan fightback to begin their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Madrid started brightly and took the lead in the 14th minute through Kylian Mbappé, who finished after the Spanish side found space in the Inter defence.
Federico Valverde then doubled Madrid’s advantage nine minutes later. The midfielder capitalised on a mistake involving Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez to put the hosts 2-0 ahead.
Inter refused to surrender and gradually grew into the contest. The Italian side created several opportunities and forced Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into important saves.
Their persistence finally paid off in the 77th minute when Carlos Augusto pulled one back for Inter after being set up by Lautaro Martínez.
The goal transformed the closing stages into a tense battle. Inter pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but Courtois produced crucial interventions to protect Madrid’s lead.
Madrid eventually held on to secure three points and open their European campaign with victory.
Porto 0-2 Manchester City.
Manchester City also made a winning start, defeating Porto 2-0 at the Estádio do Dragão after Erling Haaland struck twice.
Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa kept the hosts in the contest during the first half with a series of saves as City searched for an opening.
The breakthrough arrived two minutes after half-time. Haaland rose to meet a cross from Matheus Nunes and headed the ball into the net to give City the lead.
Porto struggled to create a response as City continued to control the match and restrict the Portuguese side’s attacking opportunities.
Haaland then completed his double in stoppage time, finishing from close range after being played in by Rayan Aït-Nouri.
The Norwegian striker’s brace underlined his extraordinary record in Europe’s elite competition and gave Pep Guardiola’s side a comfortable away victory.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal.
Borussia Dortmund produced one of the night’s most dramatic victories, beating Villarreal 3-2 after all five goals came in the second half.
The opening 45 minutes ended without a goal, but the match changed completely after the interval.
Dortmund took the lead through an own goal from Renato Veiga shortly before the hour mark.
Villarreal responded quickly when Santiago Mouriño headed in the equaliser, bringing the Spanish side back into the contest.
Dortmund regained the advantage through Serhou Guirassy, who finished after a move involving Jobe Bellingham.
Guirassy then scored again from the penalty spot, giving Dortmund a 3-1 advantage and putting the German side in control.
Villarreal refused to give up. Nicolas Pépé’s free-kick took a deflection before finding its way into the Dortmund net, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
The visitors pushed for another equaliser during the final stages, but Dortmund survived the pressure to claim all three points.
Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa.
Aston Villa secured an important away victory in Belgium after defeating Club Brugge 3-2 in a match full of momentum swings.
John McGinn opened the scoring for Villa in the 11th minute, curling an effort into the net after a move involving Pau Torres.
Club Brugge responded just eight minutes later through Hugo Vetlesen, who brought the Belgian side level.Villa quickly restored their advantage.
Emiliano Buendía scored three minutes later to make it 2-1.Nicolas Jackson then extended Villa’s lead before half-time, giving Unai Emery’s team a 3-1 advantage going into the break.
Club Brugge returned from the interval determined to fight their way back.
Their pressure earned them a penalty after a VAR review determined that Aaron Wan-Bissaka had committed a handball inside the area.
Nicolò Tresoldi stepped up and converted the penalty in the 61st minute, reducing the deficit to 3-2.
The goal sparked a sustained period of pressure from the home side.
Tresoldi struck the post and Villa were forced into several desperate defensive interventions.
Joaquin Seys also cleared an effort from the goal line as Club Brugge came close to finding an equaliser.
Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki made important saves during the closing stages, helping his side withstand the pressure and leave Belgium with three points.
Lille 2-3 Real Betis.
Real Betis completed a dramatic comeback against Lille, recovering from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in France before Lille were reduced to 10 men.
Lille made the stronger start and took the lead through Ayase Ueda, who headed the ball into the net.Betis responded through Marc Bartra, who also found the net with a header to bring the visitors level.
Lille regained their advantage before the interval when Alexsandro headed home to make it 2-1.
Betis came out strongly after half-time and quickly turned the match around.
Bartra scored his second goal of the night with another header, bringing the Spanish side level at 2-2.Betis then completed the comeback when Troy Parrott found the bottom corner to put the visitors 3-2 ahead.
Lille’s task became even more difficult in the 56th minute when Ethan Mbappé was shown a red card, leaving the French side with 10 players.
Betis took advantage of the numerical advantage and managed the remainder of the match to protect their lead.
The victory gave Betis a memorable return to the Champions League after a 21-year absence, while Bartra’s two goals made him the decisive figure in the comeback.
AEK Athens 1-0 LASK.
AEK Athens recorded the narrowest victory of the night, defeating LASK 1-0 through a superb free-kick from Răzvan Marin.
Marin broke the deadlock in the first half with a well-executed free-kick that gave AEK the advantage.
LASK responded after the break and created opportunities as they searched for an equaliser.
The Austrian side came close late in the match when Sasa Kalajdzic headed just over the crossbar.
AEK goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli was also called upon to make important interventions as LASK increased the pressure.
However, AEK’s defence held firm and the Greek side protected their one-goal advantage until the final whistle.
The victory marked an important moment for AEK, who secured their first win in the Champions League proper in 20 years.
Tuesday night’s results provided an explosive opening to the new Champions League campaign.
Twenty goals were scored across six matches, with several games going down to the final stages.
Haaland’s double, Guirassy’s brace, Bartra’s two headers and the dramatic Lille-Betis comeback were among the night’s major individual performances, while the red card shown to Ethan Mbappé added further drama to an already eventful evening.
For the victorious teams, the opening round provided an important foundation in the league phase.
On the other hand; For the defeated sides, however, the results demonstrated just how quickly a promising Champions League night can turn against them.
The competition has only just begun, but Tuesday’s action delivered an early reminder that Europe’s biggest club competition offers little room for mistakes.
