Bayern run riot, Madrid leave it late

The Champions League was back with a bang on Tuesday as 12 teams got their campaign in Europe underway.

Aston Villa set the standard in the early kick-off, beating Young Boys 3-0 in their first-ever appearance in the competition.

Meanwhile, Liverpool bounced back from a loss at the weekend to beat AC Milan 3-1 at San Siro in a dominant performance.

Away from the English teams, there were four other games taking place across the continent.

Read on for a round-up of everything that happened across the Champions League on Day 1 of its return.

Juventus 3-1 PSV

Juventus got off to a strong start in the competition, beating Dutch side PSV Eindhoven 3-1 at home.

The Old Lady stormed ahead in the match, with Kenan Yildiz opening the scoring 21 minutes in before Weston McKennie doubled the lead six minutes later.

FT | ⌛ | 5️⃣-star performance to kick off our European campaign! ⭐#JuvePSV #UCL pic.twitter.com/qxaEZt3jtS

— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) September 17, 2024

Nicolas Gonzalez put the icing on the cake for Thiago Motta’s side, although Ismael Saibari did get one back late in added time for PSV.

They join Aston Villa and AC Milan towards the top of the newly designed Champions League table featuring all 36 teams in the competition.

Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb

Bayern Munich ran riot at the Allianz Arena, beating Dinamo Zagreb 9-2.

Harry Kane got four goals on the night, three coming from the penalty spot, while Michael Olise netted a brace on his Champions League debut.

There were also goals for Raphael Gurreiro, Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.

🔔 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 💫

𝙎𝙀𝙉𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 attacking display in our #UCL opener 🤩✨#FCBayern #MiaSanMia | #FCBDIN #UCL pic.twitter.com/hu7Wzxp8Eb

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) September 17, 2024

Zagreb did score twice in two minutes to restore some pride in their performance, but overall it was a night to forget for the Croatian side.

Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart

Holders Real Madrid won their opening Champions League game, beating Stuttgart 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Kylian Mbappe got the scoring underway just after half-time, but Los Blancos were pegged back by the German side, Deniz Undav netting 30 minutes from time.

Antonio Rudiger struck one of two late goals for Carlo Ancelotti, with young Brazil star Endrick also grabbing one in added time.

It was not a vintage performance from Madrid, but they are a team who knows how to win in this competition and the three points are all they will care about.

🏁 @realmadriden 3-1 @vfb_int
⚽️ 46’ @KMbappe
⚽️ 68’ Undav
⚽️ 83’ @ToniRuediger
⚽️ 90’+5’ @endrick#UCL pic.twitter.com/kyjm2PaY4o

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 17, 2024

Sporting 2-0 Lille

Sporting returned to the Champions League in style, beating Lille 2-0 at home.

Viktor Gyokeres netted 38 minutes into the game, keeping his streak alive after a blistering start to the domestic campaign.

And Zeno Debast made it 2-0 in the second half, striking from distance to the jubilation of the Portuguese crowd around him.

Manchester United loanee Angel Gomes was sent off in the game, making it a lot easier for Sporting to collect the three points.

⏹ Começar a nossa caminhada na Champions League com uma vitória ✅

⚽ Gyökeres e Debast
🟢 2-0 🔴 // #SCPLOSC #UCL pic.twitter.com/E1GWmsdKdK

— Sporting CP (@SportingCP) September 17, 2024