Erling Haaland (left) had a rare quiet evening as Manchester City drew with Inter Milan.
Paul ELLIS
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Manchester City got off to a slow start in their Champions League campaign, drawing 0-0 with Inter Milan on Wednesday, while Paris Saint-Germain needed a last-minute goal to beat tournament newcomers Girona.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won all four Premier League games this season, but failed to beat Italian champions Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final, which City won.
City were without Kevin De Bruyne through injury at half-time and Phil Foden fired the team’s best chance straight at Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, while Erling Haaland was kept quiet on a night when he was working towards his 100th goal for the English club.
“It was a very intense game against a strong opponent. We knew what to expect. They are also a top team and they are used to winning, so it was not an easy task for us,” City defender Ruben Dias told TNT Sports.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan could have sealed the win for Inter when he scored a brilliant goal 15 minutes from time to allow City to extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 24 games – one shy of the record set by Manchester United between 2007 and 2009.
It is only the second time in 42 Champions League home games under Guardiola that City have failed to score.
“Our plan was to show that we are not afraid to play here,” said Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga (left) made a costly mistake in the last minute, giving PSG the win.
Franck FIFE
PSG also had to settle for a point against European Cup debutants Girona, which is supported by the City Football Group and was hot on Real Madrid’s heels in Spain for several months last season before finishing third.
However, in the 90th minute, Paulo Gazzaniga made a goalkeeping error and Nuno Mendes’ cross slipped through his fingers, giving the French champions the win.
“It was a difficult game. They are a team that plays well with the ball,” Mendes told Canal Plus.
“I was surprised (by the goal). The goalkeeper was there and it went through.”
Jamie Gittens came off the bench and scored two goals for Dortmund
NICOLAS TUCAT
Last season’s runners-up, Borussia Dortmund, lost to Madrid in the final thanks to English winger Jamie Gittens, who scored twice as a substitute in a 3-0 win at Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy converted a penalty in injury time, scoring his first goal for Dortmund since joining from Stuttgart in the summer.
Celtic made a brilliant start, beating Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in Glasgow to win their opening Champions League game for the first time at 13 attempts.
Liam Scales put Celtic ahead with a powerful header and the hosts struck again early in the second half through Kyogo Furuhashi before Arne Engels converted a penalty to make it 3-0.
Kevin Wimmer reduced the deficit with a fine strike for the Slovakian champions, who had advanced through four qualifying rounds, but Celtic pulled away with further goals from Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.
“It’s a fantastic night,” Celtic captain Callum McGregor told TNT Sports.
“I hope the fans enjoyed it because the managers and players enjoyed it. This is the next level for the group in terms of growth and development.”
Bologna played a 0-0 home draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Italian side’s first Champions League match, with Lukasz Skorupski saving an early penalty from Shakhtar’s Georgiy Sudakov.
Sparta Prague swept Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 with goals from Kaan Kairinen, Victor Olatunji and Qazim Laci, as the Czech champions won the competition for the first time since 2003.
