In the early morning of September 18, Beijing time, in the first round of the Champions League stage of the new season, Real Madrid defeated Stuttgart 3-1, Liverpool reversed Milan 3-1, Bayern beat Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, Juventus beat Eindhoven 3-1, Villa beat Bern Young 3-0, Portugal Sport upset Lille 2-0, a total of 28 goals in 6 games, and staged a night of carnival.
Starting from the 2024/25 season, the Champions League will be transformed from a group stage to a 36-team league stage, with each team playing eight rounds and the top eight in the table automatically advancing to the round of 16.
Real Madrid vs Stuttgart
This is the first time the two teams have met in the Champions League, with Real Madrid the defending champions and Stuttgart returning to the Champions League for the first time in 15 years.
Throughout the first half, Real Madrid's attack was in disarray, not creating any great chances, and also giving Stuttgart a chance. In the second minute, Vazquez leaked the top and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois cleared the danger, followed by goalkeeper Courtois in the 14th minute who saved Milo's shot and then in the 16th minute when he saved Ondav's one-on-one shot. In the 33rd minute, Rudiger fell to the ground in the penalty area and made a point, and then the referee cancelled Real Madrid's penalty after VAR confirmation.
In the 46th minute of the second half, Rodrygo assisted Mbappe to break the deadlock on the field. In the 68th minute, Lewellin's cross assisted Ondaf to score with a header to help Stuttgart equalize 1-1. In the 83rd minute, Rudiger scored with a header to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead. In the 94th minute, Endrick put the icing on the cake as Real Madrid sealed the win 3-1.
In this game, Mbappe scored the 49th goal of his Champions League career, surpassing Shevchenko and Ibrahimovic, and tied with Di Stefano to rank 9th in the Champions League's all-time scorer list.
Liverpool vs Milan
Both teams are the biggest clubs in Champions League history, with Milan winning seven titles and Liverpool six titles, with the last meeting being in the 2021-22 season, when Liverpool beat Milan home and away.
Just three minutes into the game, Christian Pulisic slotted home to give Milan a dream 1-0 start, which was also Liverpool's earliest goal conceded in a Champions League opener in the last 23 years. Soon, Liverpool fought back frantically and gradually took control of the game. In the 17th minute, Salah's volley bounced off the crossbar. In the 21st minute, Alexander-Arnold assisted Konate with a header from a free-kick, and Liverpool equalized 1-1. In the 41st minute, Tsimikas assisted Van Dijk's header, and Liverpool achieved a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Liverpool continued to press Milan. In the 67th minute, Gakpo crossed from the penalty area, Szobosloy outflanked the goal, and Liverpool expanded the score 3-1, which remained until the end of the game, completing the third consecutive win against Milan.
Bayern vs Dinamo Zagreb
This is the second time the two teams have met in the Champions League, the first being in 2015/16 when Bayern won 5-0 at home and Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 away.
In the first half, Bayern were in control of the game. In the 16th minute, Gnabry's low shot was cancelled out, and the referee awarded a penalty instead, and then Kane converted the penalty to give Bayern a 1-0 lead. In the 33rd minute, Musiala assisted Guerrero to sweep the goal, and Bayern scored 2-0. In the 38th minute, Kimmich's cross assisted Olise to score with a header, and Bayern extended the score 3-0.
In the second half, Dinamo Zagreb scored two goals in just two minutes to chase the score to 2-3 and saw the hope of a comeback. As a result, it took only four minutes for Bayern to extinguish the momentum of their opponents' counterattack, and in the 57th minute, Kane scored again to complete the brace, and then in the 61st minute, Olise also scored another goal to help Bayern re-establish their lead 5-2. Subsequently, Kane scored two consecutive penalty kicks to stage a big four, and then Sane and Goretzka scored one goal each, and finally Bayern won 9-2.