The expanded, new-look UEFA Champions League made its a lot anticipated debut on Tuesday with six first spherical matches throughout Europe — together with a marquee contest between English titan Liverpool and seven-time champs AC Milan in Italy.
Listed here are three fast takeaways.
Actual Madrid begins title protection with a win
Three months after defeating Borussia Dortmund to win a document fifteenth European crown, Actual Madrid received off to a profitable begin to the 2024-25 marketing campaign. The holders received an early second half objective by marquee summer season arrival and French celebrity Kylian Mbappé — who was making his maiden Champions League look for Los Blancos.
And though they later squandered it towards plucky Bundesliga facet Stuttgart within the Spanish capital, central defender Antonio Rüdiger got here to the rescue to attain the winner and forestall Actual from settling for a disappointing level at Estadio Bernabeu. With the end result past doubt, teenage sensation Endrick made it 3-1 within the fifth minute of second half stoppage time.
The end result does not change the truth that this was not a convincing efficiency from Carlo Ancelotti’s males. The Germans had been their equal each statistically – Stuttgart managed the majority of possession and despatched extra pictures on track than the extra adorned hosts – and through the bare eye. However then profitable regardless of not enjoying notably nicely is what nice groups do. And with regards to the planet’s most prestigious membership competitors, no workforce is larger. It might be an entire new season, nevertheless it was the identical story for Actual Madrid because the curtain went up on opening evening.
Liverpool survives early Christian Pulisic strike, tops AC Milan
It took U.S. captain Christian Pulisic lower than three minutes to search out the web and provides the Rossineri a lead over the visiting Reds.
The celebrations on the San Siro turned out to be short-lived. Liverpool responded to the early deficit, although, equalizing through central defender Ibrahima Konaté after which going forward by Konaté’s accomplice Virgil van Dijk earlier than the primary half was completed.
With the hosts throwing numbers ahead within the second half, the English membership held agency and delivered a backbreaking third tally by playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai to kick off the brand new European season in fashion on the residence of the seven-time continental champs.
Weston McKennie scores, is amongst 5 history-making Individuals
Tuesday’s matinée between Juventus and Dutch membership PSV Eindhoven was virtually one-stop purchasing for new U.S. males’s nationwide workforce coach Mauricio Pochettino. Key USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie made his first begin of the season for Juve, and he celebrated it by scoring his facet’s second within the hosts’ 3-1 victory in Turin.
Fellow Individuals Malik Tillman and Richie Ledezma — who has been transformed to proper again by PSV supervisor Peter Bosz — began for the guests, who introduced Ricardo Pepi off the bench. In the meantime, Tim Weah entered as an alternative to Juventus.
It marks the primary time that 5 U.S. gamers appeared in the identical Champions League match; the earlier document was three.
Juve will journey to Germany’s RB Leipzig on Oct. 2 for its second of eight league stage video games. PSV hosts Sporting Lisbon on Oct. 1.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports activities. A former workers author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports activities, he has coated U.S. males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Observe him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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