Bayern’s Dazzling Champions League Debut Sparks Joy for Real and Liverpool Fans

An unusual match was seen in Munich. Eight goals were scored in the second half alone. In the first half, the home team was clearly better, scoring three goals. At halftime, the injured goalkeeper Neuer had to substitute and Ulreich conceded twice in two minutes. Then, however, Bayern got going again and in the end could have added a tenth goal.

The 9-2 result, with a total of 11 goals, is the second highest number of goals scored in a Champions League match from the group stage to the final. Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw 8-4 (12 goals) in November 2016, a record. The match in Munich equaled the 11 goals from Monaco’s duel with Deportivo La Coruña (8:3) from November 2003.

AC Milan took the lead early on at San Siro, but Pulisic’s goal in the third minute did not follow up. Liverpool turned the score around from two set pieces before the break. After switching sides, Szoboszlai added the third goal for the English team.

Stuttgart sent a business card to Sparta Prague, Undav was able to react to Mbappé’s leading goal on the field of Real Madrid and the visitors held the score 1:1. It wasn’t until seven minutes before the end that Rüdiger decided, and Endrick added the third goal for the home favorite. Sporting Lisbon beat Lille 2:0, which knocked out Slavia Prague in the final preliminary round.

Photo: Juan Medina, Reuters

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé (left) and Jude Bellingham celebrate a goal against Stuttgart.

Juventus beat Eindhoven 3:1. The Turin club was thus able to return to the elite competition after a forced one-year break. Aston Villa won 3-0 at Young Boys Bern. Currently, the fifth team of the English league has already decided before the break.

The winner of the Champions League and its predecessor the European Champions Cup in 1985 and 1996 and the defeated finalist of seven other editions, Juventus had to miss the start of the elite competition last year after eleven consecutive participations in the basic group of the Champions League due to an accounting scandal.

The fourth-placed team in the Serie A table came back strongly, beating the Dutch champions and Eredivisie leaders at home as expected. In the first half, Yildiz scored beautifully, McKennie added the second goal. Soon after the break, González scored the third goal, for PSV it was only in the set time that substitute Sajbárí adjusted the score.

Aston Villa went straight into the Champions League from fourth place in the Premier League and they have also made a good start. On the ground of the Swiss club, Tielemans and Ramsey scored in the first half, and Onana added the third goal at the end of the match.

The competition started in a new format. The traditional eight groups of four have been replaced by a league phase in which all 36 teams form one table. Each team will play four home and away matches against eight different opponents. The first eight teams advance directly to the round of 16, the clubs in ninth to 24th place face the first round of the playoffs.

Football Champions League – 1st round: Juventus Turin – PSV Eindhoven 3:1 (2:0) Goals: 21. Yildiz, 27. McKennie, 52. González – 90.+3 Sajbárí. Referee: Hernández (Sp.). Young Boys Bern – Aston Villa 0:3 (0:2) Goals: 27. Tielemans, 38. Ramsey, 86. Onana. Referee: Kabakov (Bulgaria). AC Milan – Liverpool 1:3 (1:2) Goals: 3. Pulisic – 23. Konaté, 41. Van Dijk, 67. Szoboszlai. Referee: Eskäs (Nor.). Bayern Munich – Dinamo Zagreb 9:2 (3:0) Goals: 20th penalty, 57th, 73rd penalty. and 78. from pen. Kane, 38. and 61. Olise, 34. Guerreiro, 85. Sané, 90.+2 Goretzka – 49. Petkovič, 50. Ogiwara. Referee: J. Martínez (Spain). Real Madrid – Stuttgart 3:1 (0:0) Goals: 46. Mbappé, 83. Rüdiger, 90.+5 Endrick – 68. Undav. Referee: Meler (Tur.). Sporting Lisbon – Lille 2:0 (1:0) Goals: 38. Gyökeres, 65. Debast. Referee: Rumšas (Lit.). CK: 40. Gomes (Lille)