Favorites Dominate As Champions League Opening Night Sees Rain Of Goals

The Champions League apparently decided that easing into a new season was unnecessary.

Europe's biggest club competition returned on Tuesday night with 21 goals across just six matches, three separate 3-2 thrillers, no draws and most of the established names collecting exactly what they came for: three points. Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa all started with victories, while Real Betis produced one of the night's best comebacks in France.

It was not quite a night for the underdogs, but it was certainly one for anyone who prefers their Champions League football with the defensive caution dialled down. Who would have thought to bet like that on Roshtein’s Champions League Guessing Game?

Six games, six winners and 21 goals. For the opening night of a competition that sometimes takes a few weeks to properly warm up, that will do nicely.

Haaland Starts Exactly Where He Left Off

Some Champions League traditions are apparently too sacred to change. The anthem plays, the cameras pan around a packed stadium, and eventually Erling Haaland scores.

Manchester City had to remain patient against Porto, with Diogo Costa keeping the visitors out throughout the first half, but resistance disappeared after the break. Haaland headed home the opener before adding another in stoppage time to secure a 2-0 away victory.

The numbers remain ridiculous even by Haaland standards. His brace took him to 59 Champions League goals in 59 appearances, the type of statistic that sounds like somebody accidentally copied the goals column into the games-played column.

For City, it was exactly the sort of opening-night performance contenders want. No panic, no unnecessary drama and three points collected from one of the more intimidating away grounds on the schedule.

Real Madrid Survive An Inter Examination

Real Madrid did things slightly differently. Rather than controlling proceedings, they spent parts of the evening reminding everyone that winning Champions League matches without necessarily dominating them is practically part of the club's DNA.

Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring after 14 minutes, before Federico Valverde doubled Madrid's advantage nine minutes later. Inter created enough opportunities to make the Bernabéu nervous and eventually pulled one back through Carlos Augusto, but Thibaut Courtois produced another huge European performance to protect the 2-1 victory.

It was also Courtois' 100th Champions League appearance, and he marked it by frustrating an Inter side that enjoyed long spells on top.

Dortmund Turn The Second Half Into Chaos

Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal apparently spent half-time agreeing that the first 45 minutes had been far too sensible.

After a goalless opening period, all five goals arrived after the break in Dortmund's 3-2 victory.

An own goal from Renato Veiga opened the scoring before Santiago Mouriño equalised for Villarreal. Then Serhou Guirassy took over, scoring in the 80th minute and converting a penalty shortly afterwards.

Even that was not the end of Guirassy's involvement. A late Villarreal free-kick deflected off the striker on its way into Dortmund's net, giving him the unusual distinction of playing a part in goals at both ends during a frantic finish.

Dortmund held on, extending an impressive home European run in the process. They have now lost just two of their last 24 Champions League matches at home.

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Aston Villa Win The Night's First Shootout

The first goal of the entire 2026/27 Champions League league phase belonged to Aston Villa captain John McGinn, who curled home after 11 minutes against Club Brugge.

That merely opened the floodgates.

Hugo Vetlesen quickly equalised, but Emiliano Buendía and Nicolas Jackson struck before half-time to send Villa into the break 3-1 ahead. Jackson's goal was his first for Aston Villa, while Pau Torres played a major role in Villa's attacking work.

Club Brugge pulled one back through Nicolò Tresoldi's penalty and pushed hard for an equaliser, but Villa survived to leave Belgium with a 3-2 win.

Not a particularly relaxing European away trip, but very few people remember the comfortable ones anyway.

Betis Produce The Comeback Of The Night

Real Betis waited 21 years to return to the Champions League and then celebrated by refusing to stay behind.

Lille twice took the lead through Ayase Ueda and Alexsandro, but Marc Bartra answered on both occasions. His second header levelled the match shortly after half-time before Troy Parrott completed the turnaround, drilling home the winner for a 3-2 Betis victory.

Lille's task became even harder when Ethan Mbappé was sent off, allowing Betis to close out one of Tuesday's most eye-catching results.

For a club playing its first Champions League match in more than two decades, winning away from home after twice falling behind is a reasonably dramatic way to reintroduce yourself.

AEK Make History Against LASK

Not everything needed five goals.

AEK Athens supplied the night's only minimalist performance, beating Champions League debutants LASK 1-0 thanks to a superb Răzvan Marin free-kick in the first half.

The result carried considerably more weight than the scoreline suggests. It was AEK's first victory in the Champions League proper in 20 years, with goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli helping preserve the clean sheet as LASK pushed for an equaliser after the break.

On a night dominated by goals, AEK were perfectly happy with one.

Favorites Win, But Nobody Gets A Quiet Night

The most striking thing about Tuesday was not simply that the favorites won. It was how much resistance they encountered while doing it.

City eventually subdued Porto, but only after Diogo Costa had frustrated them. Madrid needed Courtois against Inter. Dortmund were dragged into a five-goal scrap. Villa spent much of the second half protecting a narrow lead in Bruges.

That is probably good news for the competition. The heavyweights collected the points without the matches feeling predetermined, while 21 goals provided more than enough opening-night chaos.

Haaland and Mbappé are already scoring, Madrid are already surviving difficult European nights, and Dortmund are already producing games that require several replays just to work out what happened.

Yes, the Champions League is definitely back.

Champions League Continues Today

There is barely enough time to process Tuesday before Matchday 1 continues today, Wednesday, September 9, with another six fixtures. Here are the games on the schedule tonight:

• Barcelona vs Feyenoord
• Stuttgart vs Viking
• Liverpool vs Atlético Madrid
• Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava 
• Sporting CP vs Galatasaray
• Napoli vs Arsenal

The headline attraction is probably Napoli vs Arsenal, although Liverpool welcoming Atlético to Anfield is rarely short on edge. Barcelona and PSG enter as clear favorites in their respective fixtures, meaning Wednesday now has a fairly simple challenge - to follow 21 goals and three separate 3-2 thrillers. No pressure. 

Also, don’t forget to place your bets on Roshtein Sportsbet in order to profit from the perks and enjoy interacting with Roshtein’s dedicated community. Good luck.