Champions League: Madrid, City, Dortmund win as Barcelona, Liverpool, PSG return to action

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NPA SPORTS (UEFA) — Real Madrid, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund opened their 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league-phase campaigns with victories on Tuesday, while Aston Villa also secured a dramatic away win over Club Brugge.

Real Madrid edged Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, surviving a strong second-half response from the Italian side. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring before Federico Valverde doubled Madrid’s lead, while Inter pulled one back through Carlos Augusto. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made several important saves as Madrid held on for the points. 

Manchester City made a strong statement with a 2-0 victory over Porto, with Erling Haaland scoring both goals. The result highlighted City’s attacking efficiency and defensive control under Enzo Maresca.

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Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2 in another five-goal thriller. Contrary to the initial report, the decisive goals came from Serhou Guirassy, who scored twice in the closing stages after Villarreal had fought back. 

Aston Villa also began their campaign with a 3-2 victory at Club Brugge, with John McGinn opening the scoring as Villa survived a late fightback. Pau Torres provided two assists in the victory.

Elsewhere, AEK Athens defeated LASK 1-0, while Real Betis overcame Lille 3-2, underlining the competitive nature of the opening round of the league phase. 

Tuesday’s results — September 8

• AEK Athens 1-0 LASK
• 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

Wednesday’s fixtures — September 9

The headline fixtures include Liverpool vs Atlético de Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava and Napoli vs Arsenal, while Barcelona host Feyenoord. UEFA lists the Wednesday fixtures as part of Matchday 1 of the 36-team league phase.

Thursday’s fixtures — September 10

• Fenerbahçe vs Roma
• PSV Eindhoven vs Shakhtar Donetsk
• Como vs Leipzig
• Bayern München vs Bodø/Glimt
• Manchester United vs Sabah
• Slavia Praha vs Lens 

The 2026/27 Champions League league phase runs from September 8, 2026 to January 27, 2027, with 36 teams competing in the single-table format.