Juventus' celebrate their fourth goal against Dortmund [Source: Reuters]

The UEFA Champions League kicked off this morning with thrilling encounters.

Juventus denied Dortmund with last-gasp fightback in eight-goal epic in their Champions League group stage opener this morning.

Dusan Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly scored in stoppage time to inspire a dramatic Juventus escape as they secured a 4-4 draw at home to Borussia Dortmund, with all eight goals coming after the break as the hosts trailed 4-2 when substitute Vlahovic grabbed his second of the night in the fourth minute of stoppage time, before he set up Kelly two minutes later to secure a point.

Mbappe on the spot
Kylian Mbappe converted two penalties to secure Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Olympique de Marseille in their Champions League group stage opener despite playing the final stages with 10 men after captain Dani Carvajal was sent off.

Qarabag stun Benfica
Benfica let slip an early two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to Qarabag in the Champions League group stage, with Oleksiy Kashchuk netting the Azerbaijani side’s winner four minutes from time.

The hosts looked in control when Enzo Barrenechea put them ahead in the sixth minute with a glancing header from a corner and Vangelis Pavlidis shot on the turn to double the lead 10 minutes later.

Qarabag were level three minutes after the interval when Camilo Duran ran on to a defence-splitting pass from Marko Jankovic and smacked a first-time shot into the far corner but the visitors were not done yet.

A long punt forward from the Qarabag keeper found Kashchuk just outside the area and he played a one-two with Abdellah Zoubir before stroking a shot past Trubin to stun the Estadio da Luz.

Tottenham edge out Villarreal
Tottenham Hotspur celebrated their return to the Champions League by grinding out a 1-0 home victory over Spanish club Villarreal courtesy of an early own goal by visiting keeper Luiz Junior.

Subs earn Arsenal 2-0 win
Arsenal began their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win away to Athletic Bilbao, with Gabriel Martinelli making an immediate impact from the bench to open the scoring and another substitute, Leandro Trossard, netting the second.

Belgian debutants Union secure shock opening win
Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise made a dream debut in the Champions League group phase by stunning hosts PSV Eindhoven 3-1 in a feisty derby against their Dutch counterparts.

Union, who won the Belgian title for the first time in 90 years last season, earned their first points as Promise David converted an early penalty and Anouar Ait El Hadj ran half the length of the pitch to add a second before the interval.

Defender Kevin Mac Allister bundled home the third 10 minutes from time, forcing the ball over the line with his knees from a corner, to complete a shock result.

PSV grabbed a last-minute consolation through new signing Ruben van Bommel but it failed to put any gloss on a miserable night for the Dutch champions.

[Source: Reuters]

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