Champions League action returned, and what a day it was with goals flowing and history being made. Real Madrid were able to withstand an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal being dismissed because of a headbutt to a Marseille player and still dug out a victory. Kylian Mbappe's brace cancelled out a stunning goal by Tim Weah to open things, and despite starting the match without Vinicius Junior in the XI, Xabi Alonso's team took care of business. They didn't have it as easy as Arsenal scored two goals by substitutes in winning their away trip to face Athletic Club.
History was also made with Union Saint-Gilloise and Qarabag winning their first Champions League matches in impressive fashion, but the wildest match of the day was in Turin. After three goals in four minutes, things were level 2-2 between Juventus and Dortmund before the German side scored twice to feel like they had the advantage as things were being closed out. Dusan Vlahovic thought otherwise, scoring in the 94th minute and delivering an equalizing assist to Lloyd Kelly to bring the match back level 4-4 as the points were split.
It's 4-4 with two stoppage time goals and Borussia Dortmund will be wondering what happened. We all got front row seats to the Dysan Vlahovic show with a brace and the equalizing assist to Lloyd Kelly. What a night in Turin!
Vinicius Junior draws a penalty and Kylian Mbappe just squeaks it by the keeper for the lead in the match. Now it's time to close up show for six minutes plus stoppage time.
Dortmund are now ahead by a goal in this topsy turvy game. Marcel Sabitzer had the assist but it was such a tidy finish by Couto to beat Di Gregorio in the net.
Being the team captain, you can't headbutt someone. It wasn't the most forceful headbutt from Dani Carvajal but it's going to be a red card every time. Now Real Madrid will hope to even hold out for a point with 26 minutes remaining to hold out at home.
Four minutes have seen three goals scored, and Juventus and Dortmund are level 2-2 in the 69th minute. Felix Nmemcha scored, and immediately Dusan Vlahovic scored to bring Juventus back level. This is turning into an instant classic of a match in Turin.
Is the blogger's curse the same as the commotater's curse? Joao Mario came on and within four minutes, he assisted Kenan Yildiz and Juventus are back level in the match!
Not only has Dortmund scored, but Serhou Guirassy has come close as well as the striker is beginning to dictate play against the Juventus defense. Dortmund know a thing or two about advancing in this competition so this is something to watch.
And just like that, every game has a goal. It's Karim Adeyemi who scored from just outside the box after being set up by Serhou Guirassy. The Guinean striker finds a way to be involved in everything that Dortmund does.
Chaos in Portugal as Camilo Druan scored right out of halftime after assisting Qarabag's opening goal of the day. Benfica will need things to change quickly.
When Trent-Alexander Arnold left with an injury, Tim Weah began blazing past Dani Carvajal on the wing. With halftime here, it gives Xabi Alonso a chance to adjust things. Looking at Real Madrid's attack, with 11 shots on target and a 2.2 xG in the first half, it also shouldn't matter that they allowed a goal because the Spanish side should score more.
The first halves are winding down, but with Real Madrid and Qarabag growing into their matches, there's still time for some lead changes before these come to a halftime break.
That was sloppy from Kondogbia fouling Rodrygo, and Mbappe wouldn't miss from the spot to bring Real Madrid back level. Defensively, Real Madrid are still giving up too many chances, but things will look a lot better with them being level 1-1.
This isn't going according to plan for Real Madrid as Tim Weah fires home a rocket to give the French side the lead 23 minutes into the match. We're now entering rare territory for Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid will need to come from behind for only the second time in a match this season.
That's two goals in 17 minutes for Bruno Lage's team. This time it's their striker, Vangelis Pavlidis, who caps off an excellent team goal after another great pass from Georgiy Sudakov. This team is off and running.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is exiting before 10 minutes have elapsed and will be replaced by Dani Carvajal. Carvajal has two of Real Madrid's last three league matches, as Alexander-Arnold has found it tough to get the starting role. It's tough to tell what the injury is, but this is one to watch.
Taking control from a corner kick, it was an unlikely suspect scoring the opener in Enzo Barrenechea. Qarabag were going to be up against it, and this won't be a great start.
Lucas Bergvall put a ball in for Richarlison, and Villarreal put it into their own net with Luiz Junior scoring an own goal. Thomas Frank is leading a charmed life as Tottenham manager so far.
Mikel Arteta will be happy with the result in Bilbao after his substitutes, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, were able to push Arsenal to a win with a goal and assist apiece. Athletic Club never had a chance of getting into the match, only creating an xG of .41 as Arsenal controlled from start to finish at the Estadio de San Mames.
Over in the Netherlands, PSV generated chances, but it was a match to forget. Ricardo Pepi conceded a penalty that Promise David scored in the 9th minute of play, and from there it was all Union Saint-Gilloise who won their first ever Champions League match 3-1. Next up comes the later matches but that was quite a start to the day.
It's their first victory in the Champions League in the club's history, as USG has improved rapidly over the years. It's quite a start, and this could be the beginning of them being a surprise side to advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
We're still in the realms of very small sample sizes but this really has been a bright start to the new season for Kylian Mbappe, three goals in his first three La Liga games and an average of over six shots per 90 minutes in that period. It seems that Xabi Alonso has swiftly established which of his ultra-talented forwards is going to be the focal point of his attack, ready yourself for Mbappe to go supernova at some stage this season. – James Benge
It took time for the Gunners to get going, but fresh legs made the difference with Leandro Trossard netting their second goal of the match. Trossard set up Martinelli for the opener and then Martinelli set up Trossard for the second, just how Mikel Arteta would've drawn it up.
They might have been the competition's holders, they might have had three of the top four in Ballon d'Or voting and they might have added Kylian Mbappe to an outstanding young core, but at no stage last season did Real Madrid look like a team capable of lifting Champions League crown No.16. Injuries beset their backline and at the top of the field nothing Carlo Ancelotti tried seemed to really get Vinicius Junior and Mbappe playing harmoniously. Games seemed to happen to Madrid; in those that mattered it was probably only at home to a punch-drunk Manchester City that they exerted some degree of control.
Not this season. A Xabi Alonso side couldn't countenance a game where they were not the prime actors. The changes he has rapidly made to Real Madrid were best summarised by Real Sociedad boss Sergio Francisco, the man who had to try to overcome the less than 100% Los Merengues on Saturday afternoon. "Xabi has changed things," he said. "You can see that Real Madrid want the ball more, they're more combinative, more aggressive in pressing after losing possession. They can sink opponents in their own half, maybe not with as many scoring chances, but with the feeling of being dominated. I feel like it's a Real Madrid with a bit more balance."
The data backed up what Francisco was saying, at least until it was warped somewhat by a battling win for 10-man Madrid at the Anoeta. In their first three La Liga matches their average attacking sequence started nearly six meters nearer to the opposition goal and there was a 10% upswing in the number of sequences that started in the attacking third. Real Madrid are winning the ball higher, but when they get it they are prepared to take their time. Even after their battling win in San Sebastian, the sort where you have to hoof it at the death, they have the best pass completion in the league. Right now there appears to be no other team that is better at getting the ball to the final third and keeping it there. If you were listing teams from the last five years that that is reminiscent of, Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen would be right up there. The personnel have changed, so has the system, but this is still recognisable from the good Bundesliga side whose manager made them invincible.
This team, meanwhile, has a settled Mbappe. Alonso has shown a willingness to chop and change much of his attack in the early games, but Mbappe stays. No wonder. He has four goals and an assist through his first four games and is averaging a ludicrous six shots per 90 minutes. Madrid's 4-2-3-1 looks to be fitting him in better alongside Vinicius Junior too, the Brazilian holding a bit more width while Mbappe drops into the left half space.
The attack is clicking and the defense has the numbers to weather an injury like Antonio Rudiger's. Dean Huijsen, in particular, looks impressive in the games where he isn't getting red carded. Everything has knitted together quite nicely for a team that is still waiting on the return of Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga.
Is there anything stopping them from winning the Champions League then? Nothing that is obviously within Alonso's control. There is the small matter of PSG, Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona, all of whom have had a lot longer to bed in their approach than Madrid have. At the very least, however, at the early stage of the season the perennial winners look like they could do it yet again. That should be very ominous for the rest of the continent. -- James Benge
This time it's Kevin Mac Allister, and the Belgians are flying high. This couldn't have been a worse start to UCL play for PSV after they fell apart on a corner kick and the ball was bundled in.
With his first touch of the game, the Brazilian has put Arsenal ahead in Bilbao. Talk about an instant impact!!!
Viktor Gyokeres' day will come to an end as Arsenal changes things up, looking for a winner in the last 25 minutes of play in Bilbao.
Real Madrid starters: Thibaut Courtois, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras, Arda Guler, Aurielen Tchouameni, Fede Valverde, Rodrygo, Kylian Mbappe, Franco Mastantuano
Marseille starters: Geronimo Ruilli, Emerson, Leonardo Balerdi, Benjamin Pavard, Facundo Medina, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tim Weah, Matthew O'Riley, Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
It was an excellent strike from Rodriguez that PSV were able to save, but the Belgians are coming out of the half how they ended the first half and PSV can't get a foot on the ball.
PSV has work to do in the second half after being punished for their mistakes, while Arsenal and Athletic Club are deadlocked in Spain. Everyone wants to start things on the right foot, so these matches could open up in the second half of play.
Iniaki Williams played a great cross in front of the net, but Sancet wasn't there to reach it. Athletic Club haven't had many clear chances, so they need to take advantage of the openings that they are provided with in the match.
Getting a chance on the break, they've made it 2-0 in Eindhoven with the second goal coming from Anouar Ait El Hadj. If PSV doesn't get things going soon, this will be a bad loss to take on matchday one.
