Arsenal celebrated a 2-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in their opening match of this season’s Champions League on September 16. Meanwhile, Real Madrid managed to secure a close win over Marseille with two penalty goals from Kylian Mbappe. In another exciting game, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund played a thrilling match that ended in an incredible eight-goal draw.
Tottenham Hotspur started the tournament with a victory on the opening night. It was a special evening as both Union Saint-Gilloise and Qarabag celebrated their first-ever wins in the Champions League.
Arsenal’s Commanding 2-0 Win Over Athletic Bilbao
Arsenal is excited to show their strength in Europe’s top soccer tournament again, especially after losing to the team that ended up winning, Paris Saint-Germain, in last season’s semi-finals.
They began their match in the Basque Country on a high note, thanks to late goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, which helped secure their victory.
A Brazilian player made an instant impact after entering the game, scoring the first goal in the 72nd minute at San Mames. Later on, Arsenal secured their win when Trossard, who also came off the bench, found the net with help from a deflection.
“During the game, we began to improve. In the second half, our team played better and took control, and the players who came on helped us secure the win,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
Real Madrid’s Gritty 2-1 Comeback Against Marseille
Real Madrid rallied to secure a 2-1 victory against Marseille at their home stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu. This win was even more impressive considering that Real Madrid played the final moments of the match with only 10 players on the field.
Marseille, who won the very first Champions League back in 1993, surprised the fans at the stadium by scoring first. Timothy Weah found the net midway through the first half, giving his team an unexpected lead.
The team, which has won the European championship 15 times, managed to level the score just before halftime when Mbappe scored a penalty. This happened after Rodrygo was tripped in the penalty area.
Xabi Alonso’s team faced some tough challenges during the match. Right from the start, they lost Trent Alexander-Arnold to an injury. Later on, things got even worse when Dani Carvajal, who came in to replace him, was shown a red card after a video review. The referee decided that Carvajal had headbutted the Marseille goalkeeper, Geronimo Rulli, which left Alonso’s side down to just 10 players in the second half.
The home team managed to secure a victory and earn all three points when Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty late in the game. This penalty was awarded after Facundo Medina was controversially called for a handball.
Kylian Mbappe expressed his opinion on a controversial play in a recent match, saying, “To me, it feels like a penalty, but I know that not everyone sees it that way. This rule can be confusing for a lot of people.” Mbappe shared his thoughts with Movistar after scoring his 50th goal for the club.
Tottenham’s Narrow 1-0 Victory Over Villarreal
Thomas Frank’s team, Spurs, earned a spot in the Champions League by winning the Europa League last season. In their recent match in North London, they narrowly defeated Villarreal with a score of 1-0.
The game was turned upside down by a comical mistake from Villarreal’s goalkeeper, Luiz Junior. He accidentally let a cross from Lucas Bergvall slip into the goal, which ended up deciding the match.
Tottenham secured a win, continuing their strong performance since bringing in their new coach, Frank. He shared his thoughts with Amazon Prime, saying, “It was a close match, but we managed to come out on top.”
Juventus and Dortmund’s Thrilling 4-4 Draw
Juventus faced off against Dortmund in Turin, a rematch of the 1997 final that the Germans won. The game was incredibly exciting and did not disappoint, ending in a thrilling 4-4 tie.
In an unexpected turn of events, the first half of the game ended without any goals. However, just seven minutes into the second half, Karim Adeyemi scored a beautiful low shot that put the visiting team in the lead.
Kenan Yildiz scored a spectacular goal that tied the game, hitting the ball perfectly into the top corner of the net just after the hour mark. However, Felix Nmecha quickly put Dortmund back ahead with a fantastic goal of his own.
Dusan Vlahovic scored to equalize the game at 2-2, but Yan Couto put the Bundesliga team back in the lead. They seemed to be on their way to securing the win when Ramy Bensebaini successfully scored from a penalty kick in the 86th minute.
In a thrilling finish to the match, Vlahovic scored a goal in the 94th minute. Shortly after that, he set up Lloyd Kelly, who headed the ball into the net during the sixth minute of extra time. It was an unforgettable night of football!
Qarabag’s Dramatic 3-2 Comeback vs Benfica
In Lisbon, there was quite a bit of excitement as Benfica appeared to be in control of their game against Qarabag. They quickly took the lead with two early goals from players Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis, making it look like they were on track for an easy win.
Leandro Andrade scored for the team from Azerbaijan, bringing the score to 2-1. Then, Camilo Duran managed to tie the game, and just four minutes before the end, Oleksiy Kashchuk took a great shot from inside the penalty area, making it 3-2.
This is the first time Qarabag has ever won a match in the main stage of the Champions League.
Union Saint-Gilloise’s 3-1 Triumph Over PSV
Union Saint-Gilloise made history by winning their first Belgian championship in 90 years. They celebrated their success by defeating PSV Eindhoven with a score of 3-1 in an away match.
Promise David, Anouar Ait El Hadj, and Kevin Mac Allister each scored for their team in a match held in the Netherlands. Ruben van Bommel managed to score a goal for the opposing team, making the final score closer.
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