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Manchester City and Inter Milan performed to a scoreless tie on the second day of the brand new UEFA Champions League season, however that marquee rematch of the 2023 European last was one in every of simply six video games on Wednesday’s schedule.
Listed here are the three largest takeaways from the day’s video games.
Kylian Mbappé-less Paris Saint-Germain leaves it late
Because the seconds ticked away on the referee’s watch through the last throes of PSG’s 2024-25 Champions League opener in opposition to Spanish facet Girona, the packed Parc des Princes crowd might hardly course of what was taking place.
So what if the Parisians had allowed Kylian Mbappé, maybe the planet’s finest participant, depart on a free switch this summer season to Real Madrid? Qatar-owned PSG’s overarching ambition was and stays to boost this trophy, international soccer’s most coveted on the membership stage, with or with out the World Cup-winning French celebrity.
PSG nonetheless boasts one of many richest and deepest squads in Europe. However it took a ninetieth minute personal aim for Luis Enrique’s facet to safe all three factors on Wednesday in opposition to an opponent making its European debut.
Enrique and his gamers will fortunately take the victory, little question. His locker room is gifted sufficient to make a deep run, no less than. The Mbappé-Lionel Messi–Neymar period may take a while to totally depart behind, nevertheless, no less than if this one is any indication.
Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, Sparta Prague are huge winners
It took final 12 months’s runners-up Dortmund greater than 75 minutes to interrupt by way of in Belgium in opposition to Club Brugge, however the floodgates quickly opened after Jamie Bynoe-Gittens lastly scored BVB’s opening aim with lower than a quarter-hour to go.
Bynoe-Gittens iced the end result with a second for the guests round 10 minutes later, earlier than substitute Serhou Guirassy transformed from the penalty spot to make it 3-0 within the fifth minute of second half stoppage time.
In Prague, Sparta made quick work of Austin facet Red Bull Salzburg. Finnish midfielder Kaan Kairinen despatched his workforce on its approach earlier than two minutes had elapsed and the hosts by no means appeared again in a 3-0 win of their very own.
Scottish titans Celtic out-did each with a 5-1 pummeling of Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava. 5 completely different gamers scored for the Hoops, who received for simply the fourth time of their final 33 Champions League outings. USMNT hopeful Auston Trusty made his event debut late, changing fellow Americancenter again Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Extremely-touted Man Metropolis-Inter match cannot reside as much as the hype
There’s little doubt that this was essentially the most hotly anticipated contest of Matchday 1. However regardless of the likes of Sky Blues striker Erling Haaland and his Nerazzurri counterpart Lauturo Martinez and numerous all-world others on the sector, the ultimate whistle blew on a goalless stalemate.
It wasn’t for a scarcity of effort on both facet. Metropolis managed 22 photographs, forcing visiting backstop Yann Sommer into a number of high shelf saves, however completed the match shut out at residence for the primary time in 42 Champions League video games. Meantime, Inter countered with 14 scoring possibilities of their very own. They could not make the Residents pay.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports activities. A former workers author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports activities, he has coated U.S. males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Observe him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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