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Fixtures:

Later:

FT: Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal

FT: Lille 2-3 Real Betis

FT: Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan

Goal! Villarreal!

Serhou Guirassy completed his hat-trick, but the third goal came at the wrong end. He turned the ball into his own net in added time to hand Villarreal a late goal.

Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal

Goal! Haaland again!

Manchester City added to their advantage over Porto in stoppage time.

Porto 0-2 Manchester City

Goal! Dortmund again!

That surely settled it. Serhou Guirassy scored his second of the game from the penalty spot.

Dortmund 3-1 Villarreal

Goal! Dortmund back in front!

A Borussia Dortmund free-kick struck the wall, but in the second phase the ball was worked back into the area and Serhou Guirassy finished from close range.

Dortmund 2-1 Villarreal

Goal! Inter get one back!

Carlos Augusto smashed home from close range to pull the visitors back into the contest. It was his first goal of 2026 and a significant one.

Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan

Goal! Villarreal level!

After the disappointment of an own goal, the Spanish side drew level. Mouriño headed in from a corner for a set-piece equaliser.

Dortmund 1-1 Villarreal

Haaland is inevitable!

It gets worse for Lille!

Ethan Mbappé was sent off and Lille were reduced to 10 men after VAR intervention. The offence was an off-the-ball elbow, a rash moment from the teenager.

Lille 2-3 Real Betis

Goal! Dortmund in front!

An own goal from Renato Veiga put Dortmund ahead against Villarreal.

Dortmund 1-0 Villarreal

What a turnaround!

Betis now led Lille. After scoring against Real Madrid at the weekend, Troy Parrott was on target again to put his side in front.

Lille 2-3 Real Betis

Goal! Betis level again!

Marc Bartra grabbed his second of the game as he headed in from a Real Betis free-kick.

Lille 2-2 Real Betis

Goal! Manchester City!

Only minutes into the second half, Enzo Maresca's team found the breakthrough. A cross from Enzo Fernández was headed in by Erling Haaland.

Porto 0-1 Manchester City

Kick-off!

The second half was under way in the 8pm matches.

HT: Real Madrid 2-0 Inter Milan

HT: Porto 0-0 Manchester City

HT: Dortmund 0-0 Villarreal

HT: Lille 2-1 Real Betis

Goal! That didn't last long!

Within minutes, Lille restored their lead. Alexsandro headed in from a corner.

Lille 2-1 Real Betis

Goal! Betis level!

Before the interval, Real Betis found an equaliser. A dangerous delivery into the box was met with a header for the goal.

Lille 1-1 Real Betis

Substitution!

It remained goalless between Dortmund and Villarreal, but the home side were forced into a first-half change.

Karetsas was stretchered off and replaced by Nwaneri.

Dortmund 0-0 Villarreal

Goal! Real Madrid again!

This time Federico Valverde scored, and once more it came from a dreadful mistake, with the goalkeeper caught in possession.

Real Madrid 2-0 Inter

A big goal for the Frenchman!

Goal! Now Real Madrid score!

A mistake from Curtis Jones allowed Kylian Mbappé to burst through and score.

Real Madrid 1-0 Inter Milan

Goal!

Lille went ahead at home against Betis. On his first start for the club, Ayase Ueda found the net. The assist came from Ethan Mbappé, brother of Kylian.

Lille 1-0 Real Betis

Chance!

The first clear opening in the Real Madrid v Inter match fell to the visitors. Marcus Thuram's effort at the near post was pushed away by Thibaut Courtois, and the resulting corner came to nothing.

Real Madrid 0-0 Inter Milan

Kick-off!

The 8pm kick-offs were under way.

A reminder of the 8pm kick-offs:

Porto vs Manchester City

Real Madrid vs Inter Milan

Dortmund vs Villarreal

Lille vs Real Betis

Full-time! Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa

Villa held on for a huge victory that could well get their season up and running.

Unai Emery will certainly hope so, and his reshaped side looked very impressive at times in Bruges.

Last chance?

A tame header from Tresoldi dropped to Suzuki and Villa looked set to see it out.

It was all Brugge, but time was running out for the Belgian side.

Could they still find something late?

Full-time! AEK 1-0 LASK

It was all over in Athens, where Răzvan Marin's superb free-kick separated the two teams.

There were four minutes of added time between Villa and a precious win.

AEK were also moments away from the perfect start to their campaign.

Would there be late drama in either of the early kick-offs?

Off the line!

Bogarde came within inches of finishing the game, but a defender on the line denied him a rare goal.

Nicolas Jackson went off after an excellent evening's work, with Tammy Abraham introduced for the closing stages.

Villa were less than 10 minutes away from their first win of the season.

Off the post!

This was an ideal way to begin the new season, with Brugge almost drawing level.

Suzuki was extremely relieved to see the ball come back off the woodwork from a corner and into his arms.

Emery made three substitutions as he looked to protect the lead.

Ross Barkley, Alysson and Lamine Bogarde came on for Emi Buendía, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Boubacar Kamara.

What were the chances of former West Ham player Freddie Potts levelling it? It had been that sort of night.

Disallowed goal for AEK!

Luka Jović thought he had wrapped up the win for the Greek side, but a VAR decision denied him.

LASK were still alive.

Goal! Brugge back in it!

Nicolò Tresoldi made no mistake, sending Suzuki the wrong way.

Game on.

Penalty to Brugge!

A lifeline for the hosts after Wan-Bissaka was adjudged to have handled the ball.

Following a VAR review, the spot-kick was awarded.

More good work from Gomes and Hemmings almost created another opening for Villa.

There were likely to be chances on the counter from here.

Brugge were trying to force their way back into the game, but Villa were standing firm.

The next 15 minutes looked set to be crucial.

Pau Torres had quite a night, contributing two assists from defence.

He almost picked out McGinn again with a sweeping long ball.

Back under way!

Brugge made one change, with Hugo Siquet replacing Kyriani Sabbe.

Could Villa secure their first win of the season?

Half-time!

Villa were cruising in Bruges, while AEK led LASK in Athens.

Buendía tried an audacious effort from just inside the Brugge half.

Sommer gathered it gratefully.

It had been that kind of half for the Villans.

Jackson scored against Brugge for Bayern Munich last season, and he had done it to the Belgian side again.

They must have been tired of the sight of him.

Goal! Villa make it three!

Nicolas Jackson scored his first goal for the club, and it was fully deserved after an excellent first-half display.

It was a dreadful error from Sommer, who rushed out but was beaten to the ball by the striker, who then calmly slotted home.

Could this be lift-off for Villa's season? Emery certainly looked delighted.

Brugge had a handball appeal against Boubacar Kamara waved away.

It was more strong play from Virgili, who had been the standout performer for the hosts.

Brugge's only win against English opposition came against Villa just under two years ago.

They would need something special to repeat that result tonight.

Villa looked full of confidence here.

What a difference a goal or two can make to a side.

Goal! AEK lead!

And Athens erupted.

Răzvan Marin broke the deadlock and this Champions League season was officially off to a flying start.

It was a magnificent free-kick too.

Goal! Villa back in front!

What a match this was.

It was excellent play from Nic Jackson and João Gomes, with Gomes feeding Buendía, who finished from close range.

Villa were back among the goals and, at that rate, the scoreline could have gone anywhere.

Goal! Brugge are level!

The Belgian side responded well after falling behind and drew level through Hugo Vetlesen.

Virgili was involved again, sending the ball across for the Norwegian midfielder to guide into the far corner.

It was a lovely goal, but Villa would regret the chances they had missed.

George Hemmings became the first teenager to start for Villa in the Champions League in more than 40 years, and he made a bright beginning by poking one just wide of Sommer's post.

He had been one of the beneficiaries of the major summer clear-out.

Virgili replaced Christos Tzolis at Brugge after the Greek moved to Arsenal.

Tzolis played against Villa 10 days ago, and now his successor was doing so tonight.

Wan-Bissaka would need to be at his best to keep him quiet over 90 minutes.

Strange from Sommer!

A Champions League finalist with Inter a little over a year ago, Yan Sommer was one of the last players you would expect to make a mistake tonight.

He made a mess of playing the ball out from the box and ended up handling it outside his area.

There was no yellow card for the Swiss goalkeeper and, fortunately for him, Buendía's free-kick went straight into the wall.

In Athens, Luka Jović had gone closest for the home side.

The atmosphere there was predictably excellent.

Goal! Villa take the lead!

Villa may not have scored yet in the Premier League, but they struck in Europe inside 11 minutes and, fittingly, it was captain John McGinn.

It was a superb curling finish from the Scot, who steered the ball beyond Yan Sommer and into the far corner.

Pau Torres was brilliant in the build-up, and the finish capped it perfectly.

A dream start for Unai Emery.

Brugge winger Jan Virgili had begun brightly.

He had Aaron Wan-Bissaka twisting before Villa eventually cleared, and then he forced Suzuki into the first save of the game.

New goalkeeper Zion Suzuki also made a composed start.

He is the first Japanese goalkeeper to feature in the competition.

Wan-Bissaka last played in the Champions League in December 2023, when he came on in Manchester United's 1-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich.

That was also United's most recent match in the competition. They return on Thursday, while their former right-back featured tonight.

Not bad for a player who was relegated with West Ham less than four months ago.

Emi Buendía was one of the few regular Villa players left from last season and he had their first effort here.

The Argentine also went close, placing the ball just wide of the post after neat build-up play from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Kick-off!

And this season's competition was under way.

Kick-off in Bruges and Athens was fast approaching as the continent prepared for a big night of action.

There were 30 minutes to go before the first two matches of the new European season.

The Swiss model has had its critics, but it does produce new and intriguing match-ups most seasons, and this year looked no different.

Emery has won a record five Europa League titles. Could he make another major impact in the Champions League? He did reach a semi-final with Villarreal in 2022.

Here was how Villa lined up for their return to the Champions League.

But first came the early kick-offs.

AEK Athens and LASK were meeting in the Greek capital, but the bigger story was Europa League champions Aston Villa visiting Club Brugge.

It had been a summer of major upheaval for Unai Emery's squad, and he was looking for both a first win and a first goal of the season in Belgium.

Team news for that match was to follow shortly.

Borussia Dortmund, beaten finalists in 2024, hosted Villarreal in a clash dominated by yellow shirts, while Troy Parrott and Real Betis were aiming to build on a famous win over Real Madrid on Friday when they faced Lille.

Another of Mourinho's former clubs, Porto, hosted Manchester City in what looked like a potentially thrilling tie.

New City manager Enzo Maresca's final match as Pep Guardiola's assistant was the 2023 final victory over Inter, but he is now in charge and hoping to drive the club forward again in Europe.

In the standout game of the night, José Mourinho took charge of his first European match in his second spell with Real Madrid against the Inter side he left for the Spanish capital back in 2010.

In another striking twist, his final game as Inter manager also came at the Bernabéu, tonight's venue, where he led the Nerazzurri to their third European title with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich.

One of the starters that night? Current Inter coach Cristian Chivu.

Neither two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain nor last season's finalists Arsenal were in action until the following night, but the other four teams to reach the final across the last four seasons all were.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the opening night of the league phase of this season's Champions League.