Haaland brace and Mbappé strike send City and Madrid to Champions League wins

Erling Haaland needed only two goals to settle Manchester City’s Champions League opener, while Real Madrid survived a late Inter Milan challenge to begin their campaign with a 2-1 victory.

At the Santiago Bernabéu, Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring after Yann Bisseck’s attempted clearance fell to Brahim Díaz, who set up the French forward. Federico Valverde then doubled Madrid’s lead after Inter goalkeeper Josep Martínez was caught out.

Inter responded through Carlos Augusto in the second half and pressed for an equalizer. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made several important saves to preserve the advantage. The result gave José Mourinho three points as he began another Champions League campaign in the Real Madrid dugout after returning to the club this season.

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stability

Mourinho had rejected suggestions before the match that he faced extra pressure to win the competition, despite failing to lift the trophy during his first spell at Madrid. He said his previous achievements and failures were separate from his current objectives and emphasized the need to build “stability” and a “strong structure” at the club.

In Portugal, Haaland headed City in front early in the second half before scoring again in stoppage time to complete a 2-0 win over Porto. The match had remained physical and goalless through the first half, but City eventually found a way through. Haaland’s first goal followed a move involving Rayan Cherki and Enzo Fernández.

The performance extended Haaland’s strong start to the season. He had already scored in each of City’s first three Premier League victories. Manager Enzo Maresca had acknowledged before the match that the striker might need rest after playing every competitive minute for City to that point and representing Norway at the World Cup. Instead, Haaland delivered another decisive display.

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a strong structure