Mbappé, Haaland and 10 Champions League facts you may have missed on Tuesday
Tuesday’s Champions League opener delivered a mixture of elite scoring milestones, club records and unusual statistical landmarks, with Mbappé, Haaland, Guirassy and McGinn among the players making history.
The 2026/27 Champions League league phase got off to an entertaining start on Tuesday, with six matches producing 24 goals and several individual milestones.
Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, while Manchester City began their campaign with a 2-0 victory away to Porto, Erling Haaland scoring both goals.
Aston Villa also made a winning return to the competition, beating Club Brugge 3-2 after John McGinn opened the scoring and Pau Torres supplied two assists.
Borussia Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2 in another five-goal thriller, with Serhou Guirassy scoring twice before an extraordinary late own goal.
Elsewhere, Real Betis came from behind twice to beat Lille 3-2, with Marc Bartra scoring twice, while AEK Athens defeated Champions League debutants LASK 1-0 through Răzvan Marin’s superb free-kick.
AEK’s victory was particularly significant given that the Greek side had not won a Champions League group or league-phase match since 2006.
10 Champions League facts you may have missed
1. Mbappé joins Raúl on 71 Champions League goals
Kylian Mbappé opened Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Inter with his 71st Champions League goal, moving him level with club legend Raúl González on the competition’s all-time scoring list. Only four players now have more goals in the competition’s history than the Frenchman.
2. Haaland reaches 59 Champions League goals in 59 games
Erling Haaland’s brace against Porto took his Champions League tally to 59 goals in 59 appearances, maintaining his extraordinary scoring rate in Europe’s elite competition. His two goals also gave Manchester City a winning start in Portugal.
3. Haaland matches Agüero’s Man City record
Haaland’s second goal at Porto was his 36th Champions League goal for Manchester City, moving him level with Sergio Agüero as the club’s joint-highest scorer in the competition. It took the Norwegian just 44 Champions League appearances for City to reach the landmark.
4. Guirassy overtakes Lewandowski at Dortmund
Serhou Guirassy’s double against Villarreal took him to 19 Champions League goals for Borussia Dortmund, surpassing Robert Lewandowski’s 17. Guirassy reached the mark in 25 games, three fewer than the Polish striker needed for his Dortmund tally.
The Dortmund striker’s night became even more unusual when he scored twice and then inadvertently put the ball into his own net late on, making him the first player recorded to score a brace and an own goal in the same Champions League match.
5. McGinn becomes Villa’s European record scorer
John McGinn’s opener against Club Brugge was not only the first goal of this season’s Champions League campaign but also his 12th for Aston Villa in major European competitions. That moved him beyond Ollie Watkins’ previous club record of 11.
6. Bartra’s double against Lille ends a remarkable drought
Marc Bartra scored twice as Real Betis overturned Lille’s lead to win 3-2. Remarkably, the defender’s two goals against Lille were more than he had managed in his previous 67 appearances across the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League combined.
7. Pau Torres joins a rare defensive club
Pau Torres produced two assists in Aston Villa’s 3-2 win at Club Brugge, joining Takehiro Tomiyasu, John Stones and Virgil van Dijk as defenders to provide at least two assists in a Champions League match for an English club since the 2023/24 season.
8. Real Madrid’s wastefulness continues
Despite beating Inter, Real Madrid missed seven big chances at the Bernabéu, taking their total to 14 across their last two matches. They had also failed to convert seven big chances in Friday’s 1-0 defeat by Real Betis, highlighting a finishing issue despite their attacking quality.
9. AEK finally end their long Champions League wait
Răzvan Marin’s curling free-kick gave AEK Athens a 1-0 victory over LASK and ended their long wait for a Champions League win. The result was their first in the competition since a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in November 2006, ending a run of seven matches without a win, including six consecutive defeats.
10. LASK make Champions League history despite defeat
LASK’s 1-0 loss to AEK marked their first appearance in the Champions League proper. The Austrian champions became one of four clubs making their competition debut in the 2026/27 league phase, alongside Como, Sabah and Viking.
