UCL: Haaland brace, Mbappé, Valverde goals power Madrid, City to victory

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Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland led the way as Real Madrid and Manchester City opened their Champions League campaigns with victories on Tuesday, with Madrid edging Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu and City winning 2-0 away to Porto.

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Real Madrid survived a late scare from Inter after Mbappé and Federico Valverde put the hosts two goals ahead before Carlos Augusto pulled one back for the Italian side.

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UEFA reported that Mbappé and Valverde gave Madrid control early in the contest, while Inter’s late response set up a tense finish at the Bernabéu.

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Mbappé opened the scoring after Inter defender Yann Bisseck’s attempted clearance fell kindly for Brahim Díaz to set up the French forward.

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Valverde then doubled Madrid’s advantage after Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez was caught out.

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Inter reduced the deficit through Carlos Augusto in the second half, with the visitors pressing for an equaliser.

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However, Thibaut Courtois produced several important saves to preserve Madrid’s lead as José Mourinho’s side began their European campaign with three points.

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The victory was particularly significant for Mourinho, who returned to the Real Madrid dugout this season and was beginning another Champions League campaign with the Spanish giants.

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Ahead of the match, Mourinho had played down suggestions that he was under additional pressure to win the competition, despite having failed to lift the trophy during his first spell at the club.

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Reuters reported that Mourinho said his previous achievements and failures were separate from his current objectives, while stressing the importance of building “stability” and a “strong structure” at the club.

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Haaland strikes twice for City

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In Portugal, Haaland scored both goals as Manchester City defeated Porto 2-0 to begin their campaign with an impressive away victory.

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The Norway striker headed City in front early in the second half before completing his brace in stoppage time to settle the contest.

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The victory gave new City manager Enzo Maresca a winning start in the Champions League, with the visitors eventually finding a way through after a physical and goalless first half.

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Haaland’s performance continued his remarkable start to the season. The striker had already scored in each of City’s opening three Premier League victories before the Champions League trip to Portugal.

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Maresca had acknowledged before the match that Haaland might need a rest after playing every competitive minute for City at that stage of the campaign, while also representing Norway at the World Cup.

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Instead, the striker delivered another decisive performance.

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His first goal came from a header after a move involving Rayan Cherki and Enzo Fernández, while he completed the scoring late in the game after a cut-back from Rayan Aït-Nouri.

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Porto threatened during periods of the contest but could not find a response, while City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made important saves to keep the Portuguese side at bay.

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The two victories give Real Madrid and Manchester City an early boost as the revamped Champions League league phase gets underway, with both European heavyweights taking three points from difficult opening fixtures.

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