Champions League Matchweek 1 delivered 18 matches across three days that contained everything from ambitious goals to penalty saves to red cards.
The new Champions League format kicked off with Juventus defeating PSV Eindhoven 3–1 thanks to goals from Kenan Yıldız, Weston McKennie and Nicolás González. The biggest upset of Matchweek 1 came in Thursday's final fixture when Monaco toppled Barcelona at the Stade Louis II.
At the end of the first week of fixtures, many of the biggest clubs in the world, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, sit atop the new league phase standings with three points. Manchester City only managed a draw with Inter Milan while Arsenal also earned just a point against Atalanta thanks to David Raya’s heroics in goal.
Here's SI Soccer's Champions League Wrap-up for Matchweek 1.
Manchester City
All eyes were on the 2023 Champions League final rematch between Manchester City and Inter Milan, but the game failed to live up to the hype. The reigning Serie A champions held the English champions to a scoreless draw at the Etihad.
City more than had its chances to get on the scoresheet, especially once İlkay Gündoğan came onto the pitch, but Guardiola's side lacked the end product to beat Yann Sommer. Erling Haaland, the man who came into the game with nine goals in his last four fixtures, only managed 14 touches in 90 minutes and one shot on target.
Inter's disciplined, experienced backline deserves credit for stifling City's attack. Yet the result felt much more disappointing for City than the Italian giants.
To make matters worse, Kevin De Bruyne had to come out of the game due to injury. With City set to host Arsenal on Sunday, the Citizens must quickly bounce back from their mid-week showing, possibly without one of their best players.
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti's men kicked off their Champions league title defense with a 3–1 victory over Stuttgart. Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger and Endrick all found the back of the net at the Santiago Bernabéu to secure three points for Los Blancos.
The match was full of positive takeaways for Real Madrid. Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni returned from injury, Mbappé scored in his UCL debut for the club and Endrick bagged his first Champions League goal from an ambitious individual effort in the dying moments of the match.
Still, the score does not tell the match's full story. For the fifth time in six matches, Real Madrid was held scoreless after the first 45 minutes. The European champions also could have conceded much more than one goal had Thibaut Courtois not stood on his head in the early stages of the fixture.
Real Madrid's liabilities at the back as well as its inability to get off to fast starts will cost Ancelotti's squad against the tougher teams in its league phase schedule, like Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG left the Parc des Princes with all three points on Wednesday night, but its performance was anything but impressive. The French giants defeated Girona 1–0 thanks to an own goal from Paulo Gazzaniga in the 90th minute.
PSG struggling to find the back of the net against Girona is not a great sign for Luis Enrique’s men moving forward in the Champions League. The Spanish side had just conceded four goals to Barcelona three days before traveling to Paris.
PSG fired 26 shots at Gazzaniga, but the only one to trickle through came from the keeper's own error. For a team that notched 16 goals in its four opening Ligue 1 fixtures, PSG could not translate its domestic success to Europe. Even with Kylian Mbappé, PSG scored zero goals against an inferior Borussia Dortmund side across two legs in the UCL semifinals last year.
Struggling to produce goals in the Champions League is a recurring problem for PSG and history looks tempted to repeat itself, especially once the club faces Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atlético Madrid over the next five months.
Barcelona
Barcelona suffered its first loss under Hansi Flick on Thursday when the club traveled to Monaco for its opening Champions League fixture. Eric García was sent off in the 10th minute, leaving the Catalans down a man for almost the entire match. Despite Lamine Yamal’s goal in the 28th minute, Barcelona lost 1-2 and headed back to Spain with zero points.
The loss was a blow to Barcelona’s otherwise perfect start under Flick, but the bad result does not have to define the five-time UCL champions. Not only was Barcelona playing with ten men, but it was also without Dani Olmo due to injury.
The Spanish giants will be eager to put the defeat behind them and start fresh against Young Boys on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Patrick Rahmen's side lost 0-3 to Aston Villa in its opening UCL fixture and should not give Barcelona too much trouble.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Champions League Matchweek 1 Wrap-up: Manchester City Disappoints Against Inter Milan.
