Dortmund scores seven, and the Champions League is won by Barcelona, Manchester City, and Arsenal.
With goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka in the first half, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal defeated his old team, Paris Saint-Germain, 2-0. Karim Adeyemi was outstanding as Borussia Dortmund crushed Celtic, while Barcelona and Manchester City won their first games in the reorganized Champions League on Tuesday.
Dortmund defeated Celtic 7-1 at home thanks to a hat-trick from Adeyemi in the first half. Following Bayern Munich’s 9-2 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb in the opening matchday, it was the second significant victory for a German team in the competition.
In the first match, Robert Lewandowski scored the first goal for Barcelona as the Spanish powerhouse defeated Young Boys 5-0 at home. Meanwhile, İlkay Gündoğan, a former comrade, gave City a 4-0 victory against Slovan Bratislava. Erling Haaland scored in his 41st Champions League match for his 42nd goal.
Inter Milan held City scoreless in their first encounter, while Barcelona bounced back from a 2-1 loss at Monaco—the team’s first setback under new manager Hansi Flick.
Arsenal, led by Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka in the first half, defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 under Mikel Arteta’s leadership. The risk taken by PSG coach Luis Enrique to bench Ousmane Dembélé did not pay off.
Dortmund’s supporters made it apparent that they were against the changes by sending a massive tifo criticizing UEFA, even though the squad seemed to have adjusted to the new competition structure very well. Last season’s defeated finalist had 10 goals from two games after opening with a 3-0 victory against Club Brugge.
In order to accommodate four extra clubs, UEFA reorganized the top tournament in Europe for this season. The league format replaced the group stage, with each of the 36 clubs currently competing facing eight opponents once during the competition’s opening round.
Tuesday’s results, including the significant victories for Barcelona, City, and Dortmund, seem to refute UEFA’s argument that the modifications will guarantee more evenly balanced games.
