FOOTBALL – Real Madrid opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 home win over Inter Milan yesterday, with Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde scoring before halftime and Carlos Augusto pulling one back in the 76th minute.
Manchester City won 2-0 at Porto thanks to two second-half goals by Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker opened the scoring with a header in the 47th minute and struck from inside the box in added time to seal the victory.
Real Betis twice came from behind to beat Lille 3-2 away, with Marc Bartra scoring in the 34th and 49th minutes before Troy Parrott’s 54th-minute winner.
Lille scored their opener in the 12th minute and regained the lead through Alexsandro in the 37th.
The hosts later had Ethan Mbappe sent off for an elbow to the face of an opponent.
Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 at home.
Renato Veiga’s 53rd-minute own goal put Dortmund ahead before Santiago Mourino equalised in the 66th.
Serhou Guirassy restored the lead in the 80th minute and scored the third with an 84th-minute penalty, before scoring an own goal in added time while trying to help in defence.
Earlier, Aston Villa survived a second-half surge from Club Brugge to open their campaign with a 3-2 away win, with Pau Torres providing two assists for Unai Emery’s side.
AEK Athens also made a winning start, beating Austrian side LASK 1-0 in Greece thanks to Romanian midfielder Razvan Marin’s curling free kick midway through the first half.
In Belgium, Torres set up John McGinn to put Villa ahead in the 11th minute but Hugo Vetlesen equalised for the hosts eight minutes later.
Villa responded swiftly, with Emiliano Buendia restoring their lead from a Joao Gomes assist before Nicolas Jackson made it 3-1 just before halftime, Torres again supplying the final pass.
Brugge dominated after the break and Nicolo Tresoldi pulled a goal back with a penalty in the 61st minute but Villa protected their advantage to secure all three points.
Marin provided the decisive moment for AEK in the 21st minute, curling a free kick from outside the penalty area on the left-hand side into the top corner beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.