Holders Manchester City recovered from falling a goal behind to outclass Red Star Belgrade 3-1 in their Group G opener with Julian Alvarez scoring twice at The Etihad last night.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the opening period but were guilty of wayward finishing and trailed to a sucker-punch just before halftime as Osman Bukari broke clear to finish in style.
City began the game on a 26-match unbeaten run in Champions League home games and normal service was resumed almost immediately after the restart as Alvarez levelled after combining with Erling Haaland.
A misjudgement by Red Star keeper Omri Glazer allowed an Alvarez cross to go into the net on the hour and Rodri made it 3-1 with a clinical finish after 73 minutes as City made it 19 home wins in succession in all competitions.
Kylian Mbappe was on form again as Paris St Germain kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Borussia Dortmund, showing glimpses of what might be under new coach Luis Enrique.
Mbappe opened the scoring with a second-half penalty and Achraf Hakimi doubled the tally with a fine goal as PSG’s patience paid off at the Parc des Princes.
It was only the third win in six competitive games for the Ligue 1 champions this season, and it gave them some much-needed relief after their first defeat at the weekend as they dutifully applied Enrique’s possession game.
PSG top Group F with three points, two ahead of AC Milan and Newcastle, who drew 0-0 earlier yesterday.
Barcelona’s Joao Felix struck twice in a 5-0 demolition of visiting Royal Antwerp in their Group H opener.
Last-minute signing Felix opened the scoring with a low strike in the 11th minute before setting up Robert Lewandowski to double their lead eight minutes later as the Poland striker scored his 100th goal in European competition. Raphinha helped make it 3-0 when his strike from a tight angle deflected off defender Jelle Bataille for an own goal.
Gavi and Felix added another two goals for the five-time European champions after the break to complete the rout at Barca’s temporary home while Camp Nou is being redeveloped.
Feyenoord marked their return to the group phase of the Champions League after a five-year absence with 2-0 win over nine-man Celtic to get their campaign off to a winning start.
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