The main stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League got underway, with the first round of matches spread over three days. The standout clash took place in Madrid, where Real Madrid hosted Inter Milan. By the middle of the first half, the hosts were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde. Inter's Brazilian defender Carlos Augusto pulled one back late on, but the Italians couldn't find an equalizer, and the match ended 2-1, reports infohub.kz.
In a parallel fixture, Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who recently changed his look, scored twice against Porto, turning his team's total dominance into a comfortable 2-0 win at the Dragao stadium.
French side Lille twice took the lead against Real Betis but ultimately lost 2-3. The decisive factors were a brace from Marc Bartra and a red card for Ethan Mbappe, Kylian's younger brother, who was sent off for an elbow soon after the visitors' third goal.
The hero of Borussia Dortmund's clash with Villarreal was Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy, who scored twice against the Spaniards and once into his own net, but that didn't prevent his team from clinching a comeback 3-2 victory.
Belgian champions Club Brugge, despite their efforts, couldn't handle Aston Villa, the 2025/26 Europa League winners who have moved up to the higher-tier competition. The visitors won 3-2.
Greek side AEK celebrated a 1-0 win over Austria's LASK in Athens, thanks to a stunning free-kick from Romanian Razvan Marin.
Tomorrow, the first round of the Champions League continues with six more matches. As a reminder, each of the 36 teams will play eight matches in the league phase against different opponents. The top eight clubs in the overall standings will advance directly to the Round of 16. Teams finishing 9th to 24th will enter playoff matches for a spot in the Round of 16, with clubs ranked 9th to 16th seeded in the draw. The rest are eliminated.
Kazakhstan's Kairat, who played in the Champions League last season, failed to qualify for the main draw of Europe's premier club competition this time. Rafael Urazbakhtin's side will start their Conference League campaign with an away match against Riga on October 15.