{
  "id": 6399623,
  "title": "Real Madrid win Champions League opener as Haaland stars for Man City",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/real-madrid-win-champions-league-opener-as-haaland-stars-for-man-city",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-09T07:26:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/soccer/world-soccer/real-madrid-win-champions-league-opener-haaland-stars-city/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in their Champions League opener, with Erling Haaland scoring twice in Manchester City's match against Porto. The first night of the season's league phase also saw Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund achieve victories. The Spanish giants, managed by Jose Mourinho for the second time, started strongly, leading by two goals before halftime. Kylian Mbappe, who has now scored 71 Champions League goals, including 71 goals as Real Madrid legend Raul, scored the first goal after 10 minutes. Real Madrid doubled their lead when Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez attempted to deflect Fede Valverde's shot into his own net. Carlos Augusto equalized for Inter, but Real held on for the win. Mourinho expressed his surprise at the game's outcome, saying it could have had a vastly different result. Manchester City's Haaland scored twice, with the first goal coming two minutes after the restart, and sealed the victory in stoppage time. The Premier League champions, who won the Champions League in 2023, will face Paris Saint-Germain in their next European game. Villa, who have yet to score in the Premier League this season, defeated Belgian champions Club Brugge 3-2 away. John McGinn opened the scoring, and Nicolas Jackson added a late goal, while Nicolas Jackson's goal was controversially disallowed due to a handball by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Belgian champions responded with a 3-2 win against Villarreal, with Serhou Guirassy being the hero. Troy Parrott scored the winning goal for Real Betis, marking their second consecutive win in the Champions League after a 21-year absence. Lille finished with 10 men as Ethan Mbappe was sent off. Greek champions AEK Athens secured a 1-0 victory over Austrian title winners LASK, thanks to a free-kick by Razvan Marin.",
  "summary": "Madrid were two goals ahead midway through the first half at the Bernabeu.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}