THE Champions League is on again tonight with some thrilling action to kick off the brand new league phase.
Man City vs Inter Milan is the pick of the games, while Celtic, PSG and last season’s finalists Borussia Dortmund are also in action.
Liverpool got the better of European rivals AC Milan as they ran out 3-1 winners at the San Siro on the first night.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane netted FOUR in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb and Aston Villa ended their 41-year wait for elite European football with a 3-0 win at Young Boys.
- Kick off times: 5.45pm/8pm BST
- TV channels: TNT Sports/Amazon Prime Video
- Live stream: discovery+
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
Follow our live blog below…
‘Pep reinvented my brain’
John Stones reckons he went from knowledgeable to know-nothing… thanks to Pep Guardiola!
Manchester City’s England defender was shocked by the Spaniard’s incredible insights.
The Prem champs hosts Inter Milan in the Champions League at 8pm tonight.
And Stones said: “I thought I knew football to a decent degree and understood the game.
“Pep made me feel like I knew nothing; he’s opened my eyes to so much.
“He’s kind of reinvented my brain towards football and what football is.”
Credit: News Group Nrewspapers Ltd Tonight’s Champions League action
- Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk – 5.45pm
- Sparta Prague vs Red Bull Salzburg – 5.45pm
- Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava – 8pm
- Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund – 8pm
- Manchester City vs Inter Milan – 8pm
- PSG vs Girona – 8pm
Kane proud of achievement
Harry Kane has admitted his pride at surpassing Wayne Rooney’s record thirty goals in the Champions League,
He told Amazon Prime: “Whenever you’re in a conversation with Wayne Rooney it means you’re doing something well.
“He’s one of the greatest English players and one of the best players there was in the game.
“It’s a nice achievement.”
Credit: Instagram @harrykane
Record breaker Kane
Harry Kane became the top English goalscorer in the Champions League.
His four goals against Dinamo Zagreb saw him reach 33 goals in the tournament, three more than Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 30.
Kane’s outing also saw him net his 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd goals for Bayern Munich in just his 50th game for the club.
It was also the first time a team has managed nine goals in a single Champions League game,
Credit: Getty Credit: Reuters Last night’s round-up
It was a great night for the English sides as Liverpool and Aston Villa both got off to a winning start.
The standout result is Bayern Munich’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb as they scored NINE, including four from Harry Kane.
- Juventus 3-1 PSV
- Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
- AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
- Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
- Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
- Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille
Tonight’s fixtures
Here is a look at tonight’s Champions League fixtures.
The two early kick-offs see Bologna take on Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Prague face Red Bull Salzburg.
Manchester City face Inter Milan at 8pm while Celtic start their campaign against Slovan Bratislava.
- Bologna v Shakhtar Donetsk (17:45)
- Sparta Prague v Red Bull Salzburg (17:45)
- Celtic v Slovan Bratislava (20:00)
- Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund (20:00)
- Man City v Inter Milan (20:00)
- PSG v Girona (20:00)
More from Inzaghi
The Italian coach has insisted he is not out for revenge against Manchester City after the Champions League final defeat to the club in 2023.
He said: “I watched it the following week and then last month during the pre-season.
“I don’t think it’s revenge because tomorrow is a league-phase game.
“I have no regrets because my team gave their all in Istanbul.
“It’s a new competition, we have to prepare for eight different games.
“It will be more demanding, but it’s a format that will surely work well. We want to have a great journey.”
‘Know what to do’, Inzaghi
Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has claimed that his players know what they have to do in order to get a result against Manchester City.
He said: “We face a highly organised team.
“They haven’t lost at home for years. We know what we have to do.
“We have prepared for the game in one day, but we know what we have to do.
“We know we’ll need an enormous performance. The lads are aware of it.”
Credit: Getty Pep compares Inter to Brentford
Pep Guardiola has compared Inter Milan to Brentford ahead of their Champions League clash tonight.
He said: “Historical team and incredible mentality. They are built to win every single game and to win every competition.
“Last year they won a lot and that means in the mindset of the players they can do it, which is similar to us.
“They have good high pressing and go man to man so they are similar to Brentford [in that regard] and after they defend with typical Italian mentality that they have to suffer. They are also strong in set pieces. Incredible qualities.
“Good guys from second line, especially [Nicolo] Barella. I don’t know if he will be fit tomorrow but every time from [Federico] Dimarco crosses arrive with four or five players in the box.
“You cannot reach the Champions League final and win Serie A with 90 per cent of the same players if you don’t have something special.”
Credit: EPA
Tielemans hit out at format
Aston Villa ace Youri Tielemans has criticised the new Champions League format.
Despite his excitement to play in Europe’s premier competition, he is aware that the increased games will make it “tougher”.
He said: “I’m very excited. Every game’s going to be really tough. This new format makes it even tougher.
“It’s going to come down to the details in the end, after the eight games. it’s going to be tough.”
Gakpo happy with showing
Cody Gakpo admitted that he was thrilled with his performance in Liverpool’s win over AC Milan.
He told Amazon Prime: “I think we had more chances but they were dangerous in moments as well. We controlled the game pretty good and it’s a fair result for us.
“We stayed calm and stayed focus. We have to thank our centre-backs for two great headers. After that moment we controlled the game better.
“We work on set-pieces before every game and we’re very happy it worked out today.
“Every player wants to play and I got my moment. I really wanted to show myself and I am very happy with an assist but also especially with the win.”
Credit: AFP Emery dedicates win to Shaw
Unai Emery dedicated Aston Villa’s Champions League win to club legend Gary Shaw, who passed away earlier in the week.
He said: “First of all, this victory is for Gary Shaw.
“We can follow in the Champions League, winning like they [1982 team] finished and we want to celebrate this victory and dedicate it to Gary Shaw and the Aston Villa family.
“It’s always difficult away and our experiences last year show it. We played focussing very well in 90 minutes and being consistent, respecting them.
“They started pushing in the first 15 minutes. We defended well and were progressively adapting to the pitch.
“We imposed our capacity to beat them, always respecting them.”
Top scorers
Kane’s four goals have seen him open up a decent lead as the top scorer in the Champions League.
Record breaker Kane
Harry Kane became the top English goalscorer in the Champions League.
His four goals against Dinamo Zagreb saw him reach 33 goals in the tournament, three more than Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 30.
Kane’s outing also saw him net his 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd goals for Bayern Munich in just his 50th game for the club.
It was also the first time a team has managed nine goals in a single Champions League game,
Credit: Getty Credit: Reuters Tonight’s fixtures
Here is a look at the next round of Champions League fixtures.
- Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sparta Praha vs RB Salzburg
- Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
- Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund
- Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
- Manchester City vs Inter Milan
Scores round-up
It was a perfect night for the English sides as Liverpool and Aston Villa both got off to a winning start last night.
The standout result is Bayern Munich’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb as they scored NINE, including four from Harry Kane.
- Juventus 3-1 PSV
- Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
- AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
- Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
- Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
- Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille
Slot’s happy birthday
Arne Slot with thrilled with Liverpool’s win over AC Milan to give himself a happy birthday.
He told Amazon Prime: “A great way to spend my birthday. We have more than 11 players and the ones that came in did well. You wouldn’t have said this after five minutes, but after we did well.
“Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early tonight, you are wondering how we react.
“But if you can play so good it is – I won’t say a disgrace – unbelievable you lose to Forest at home if you can play like this today.
“I would have played Cody Gakpo on Saturday but he played two games for the national side. Today was more a team display than an individual display.”
Credit: Getty Slot full of Gakpo praise
Arne Slot insisted that Cody Gakpo followed in the footsteps of some other Dutch players with his Man Of The Match performance against AC Milan.
He said: “He took to the occasion of playing at a stadium that’s had some unbelievable Dutch midfielders.”
Credit: Getty Endrick opens Champions League account
Endrick netted his first Champions League goal as Real Madrid started their title defence with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart.
The Brazilian fired home from 25 yards to score his side’s third of the match.
Credit: EPA Tomorrow’s fixtures
Here is a look at the next round of Champions League fixtures…
- Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sparta Praha vs RB Salzburg
- Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
- Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund
- Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
- Manchester City vs Inter Milan
Kane celebrates his four goals
Harry Kane smashed four goals against Dinamo Zagreb, with three coming from the spot.
Credit: EPA Credit: Getty
Slot hailed
Former Liverpool star Stephen Warnock has praised Arne Slot for his management during the win over AC Milan.
He told the BBC: “Liverpool got a foothold in the game and Arne Slot changed things.
“The possession Liverpool had was dominant – it created so many opportunities.
“Liverpool got complete control going 3-1 ahead and it never looked in doubt from there.”
Match report
Check out our full match report of Liverpool’s win over AC Milan.
Scores round-up
It was a perfect night for the English sides as Liverpool and Aston Villa both got off to a winning start.
The standout result is Bayern Munich’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb as they scored NINE, including four from Harry Kane.
- Juventus 3-1 PSV
- Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
- AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
- Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
- Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
- Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille
Full-time stats
Here is a look at the match stats from all the late kick-offs.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
