Real Madrid Survive Inter Scare as Haaland Inspires Manchester City in Champions League Openers

Real Madrid capitalized on two costly Inter Milan mistakes to secure a 2-1 victory in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, powered by goals from Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde, alongside a heroic defensive display from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Erling Haaland struck twice after half-time to lead Manchester City to a 2-0 win away at Porto, extending coach Enzo Maresca's perfect start following three successive Premier League victories.

Real Betis fought back twice to defeat Lille 3-2 in France, featuring a brace from defender Marc Bartra before Troy Parrott netted the winner. Lille later had Ethan Mbappe sent off.

Serhou Guirassy's late double ensured Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 home triumph over Villarreal after the Spanish side had cancelled out Renato Veiga's own goal. Earlier, Aston Villa held off Club Brugge to win 3-2 in Belgium, aided by two Pau Torres assists, while Razvan Marin's free kick secured a 1-0 home victory for AEK Athens against LASK.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho faced his former club at the stadium where he guided Inter to Champions League glory against Bayern Munich in 2010, though the visitors nearly spoiled his homecoming. Courtois repeatedly rescued Real against an Inter side that controlled possession but suffered from crucial defensive lapses. The Belgian goalkeeper produced a series of crucial saves to preserve the hosts' narrow win.

Madrid opened the scoring when Mbappe pressured Yann Bisseck into losing possession, allowing Brahim Diaz to collect the loose ball and feed the French striker for a finish beneath the goalkeeper. After Courtois denied Hakan Calhanoglu's powerful free kick, Inter goalkeeper Martinez gifted Real their second goal by attempting to dribble past Valverde inside his own area, enabling the midfielder to poke the ball home. Jude Bellingham missed a close-range chance before half-time, and Inter maintained pressure after the break, with Carlos Augusto converting Lautaro Martinez's low cross in the 76th minute, but Real held on.

In Portugal, Manchester City dominated possession against Porto, finishing with 20 shots while the hosts failed to register a single attempt. Haaland broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart by heading in Enzo Fernandez's lofted cross, and added his second in stoppage time from Rayan Ait-Nouri's pass.

Real Betis fell behind to Lille's 12th-minute opener before Bartra equalised from Pablo Fornals' cross. Alexsandro restored the hosts' lead three minutes later from a corner, but Bartra headed in Isco's free-kick in the 49th minute, and Parrott completed the comeback five minutes later following an individual run.

Borussia Dortmund took the lead through Veiga's attempted clearance in the 53rd minute before Villarreal equalised with a close-range header in the 66th. Guirassy restored the advantage from Fabio Silva's pass in the 80th minute and converted a penalty four minutes later, though he later scored an own goal in added time.

In Belgium, Torres set up John McGinn to put Aston Villa ahead against Brugge in the 11th minute, though Hugo Vetlesen equalised eight minutes later. Villa responded quickly as Emiliano Buendia restored their lead from a Joao Gomes assist, and Nicolas Jackson made it 3-1 before half-time off another Torres pass. Although Brugge dominated the second half and Nicolo Tresoldi scored from a 61st-minute penalty, Villa protected their advantage to secure the three points. Meanwhile, Marin sealed AEK's victory against LASK with a curling 21st-minute free kick from outside the penalty area.