Guirassy double lifts Dortmund as Real Madrid, Man City win openers
Berlin: Serhou Guirassy struck twice late on as Borussia Dortmund opened its UEFA Champions League campaign with a 3-2 victory over Villarreal, while Real Madrid and Manchester City also made winning starts.
Dortmund’s victory was overshadowed by a health scare involving Konstantinos Karetsas, who went down without contact during the first half and required lengthy treatment.
The 18-year-old Greece international was carried off on a stretcher in the 27th minute and taken to hospital after suffering what the club described as circulatory problems, reports Xinhua.
Dortmund later said he was doing well as well as could be expected under the circumstances and would undergo further examinations.
Ethan Nwaneri replaced Karetsas, and Dortmund gradually regained their attacking rhythm, although Guirassy was denied by Villarreal goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi shortly before halftime.
The hosts increased the pressure after the restart and went close in the 52nd minute when Pape Gueye’s attempted intervention sent the ball against his own post.
Dortmund broke the deadlock a minute later when Renato Veiga diverted a dangerous low delivery into his own net.
Villarreal responded strongly and equalized in the 66th minute, with Santiago Mourino powering a close-range header inside the near post following a corner.
The visitors continued to threaten, but Dortmund’s substitutes helped turn the contest back in the hosts’ favor. Jobe Bellingham released Fabio Silva down the right in the 80th minute and the Portuguese squared for Guirassy to finish from close range.
Guirassy was then fouled inside the penalty area and converted the resulting spot kick in the 85th minute to give Dortmund a 3-1 advantage.
Villarreal pulled another goal back in the third minute of stoppage time when Guirassy inadvertently turned Nicolas Pepe’s free kick into his own net, but Dortmund survived the late pressure to secure all three points.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid punished two costly Inter Milan errors to claim a 2-1 home victory. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring before Federico Valverde capitalized on a mistake by Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez to double the hosts’ advantage. Carlos Augusto replied for Inter in the 76th minute, but Thibaut Courtois made a series of saves to preserve Real’s lead.
Erling Haaland scored twice after halftime as Manchester City won 2-0 away to Porto. The Norwegian headed home Enzo Fernandez’s cross two minutes after the restart before adding his second from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s pass in stoppage time.
Real Betis twice came from behind to beat Lille 3-2 in France. Marc Bartra scored both equalizers before Troy Parrott completed the turnaround, while Lille’s Ethan Mbappe was sent off following a VAR review.
Aston Villa held off a second-half fightback to defeat Club Brugge 3-2 in Belgium. John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia and Nicolas Jackson scored for Villa, while Hugo Vetlesen and Nicolo Tresoldi were on target for the hosts.
In Tuesday’s other match, Razvan Marin curled home a first-half free kick to earn AEK Athens a 1-0 victory over Austrian side LASK.