PARIS, Sept 17 — The Champions League league phase kicked off yesterday with Arsenal, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur all securing wins, while Juventus and Borussia Dortmund served up a spectacular eight-goal draw.
PARIS, Sept 17 — The Champions League league phase kicked off yesterday with Arsenal, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur all securing wins, while Juventus and Borussia Dortmund served up a spectacular eight-goal draw.
Arsenal, eager to make another deep run in Europe after last season’s semi-final exit to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 away. Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute before fellow substitute Leandro Trossard sealed the win with a deflected strike.
“We grew into the game, became more dominant in the second half, and the substitutes gave us the impact we needed,” said manager Mikel Arteta.
At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid came from behind to edge Marseille 2-1. Timothy Weah stunned the hosts with a first-half opener, but Kylian Mbappe equalised from the spot before halftime. Despite going down to 10 men after Dani Carvajal’s red card, Madrid claimed all three points with another Mbappe penalty, the French star’s 50th goal for the club.
“For me it’s a penalty, but I understand some won’t agree—we’re all confused by the rule,” Mbappe told Movistar.
Tottenham Hotspur, back in the competition after winning last season’s Europa League, claimed a 1-0 victory over Villarreal in North London thanks to a bizarre early own goal from goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
“It was a very even game that we just edged,” said manager Thomas Frank.
The night’s standout clash came in Turin, where Juventus and Dortmund drew 4-4 in a thrilling rematch of the 1997 final. After a goalless first half, Karim Adeyemi, Felix Nmecha and Yan Couto scored for Dortmund, while Kenan Yildiz and Dusan Vlahovic twice levelled for Juve. A late Ramy Bensebaini penalty seemed to settle it, but Vlahovic pulled one back in stoppage time before setting up Lloyd Kelly’s dramatic 96th-minute equaliser.
Elsewhere, Azerbaijan’s Qarabag celebrated their first-ever Champions League group-stage win with a stunning 3-2 comeback at Benfica, while Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise marked their debut campaign with a 3-1 triumph over PSV Eindhoven. — AFP
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