Mbappe Haaland shines in the Champions League for PSG In Zagreb Man City triumphs and Chelsea loses

 

Mbappe scored both goals as PSG defeated Juventus 2-1 at home to demonstrate why they were fighting so hard to keep him at the close of the previous season

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City both started the Champions League group stage with victories on Tuesday, led by Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, but big-spending Chelsea suffered a shocking 1-0 loss away to Dinamo Zagreb

Despite losing Karim Benzema to injury, Real Madrid rode their luck at times before showcasing their class to begin their title defense with a 3-0 victory at Celtic

Mbappe scored both goals as PSG defeated Juventus 2-1 at home to start their quest for the biggest prize in European club football. Mbappe demonstrated why PSG was so desperate to keep him at the end of last season when he looked like he was going to leave for Real.

Mbappe told Canal Plus, We played well and we won in a great atmosphere at home.

Because we enjoy competing against strong opposition, we participate in the Champions League. We enjoy the atmosphere created by games like these, where character must be displayed.

In the fifth minute at Parc des Princes, the France forward volleyed Neymar's delightful scoop past Mattia Perin. He then added another skillfully constructed goal midway through the first half.

Juventus attempted to get back into the match with a goal from substitute Weston McKennie, but PSG held on and has now tied Benfica in Group H. Rafa Silva and Alex Grimaldo both scored once as the Portuguese team defeated Maccabi Haifa 2-0.

The Norwegian striker continued his brilliant form for his new team with two goals in their 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla, despite Pep Guardiola's warning that Haaland alone cannot lead City to Champions League gold this season.

He has a strong sense of purpose. We want to keep scoring goals at this great rate, according to Guardiola.

Haaland gave City the lead in Spain on the 20th minute by poking in a Kevin De Bruyne cross after scoring 10 goals in six Premier League games.

On the hour, Phil Foden extended the advantage before Haaland struck one more. A fourth goal from Ruben Dias added insult to injury for the faltering Sevilla team.

Next week, Haaland will reunite with his old team, Borussia Dortmund, who defeated FC Copenhagen 3-0 earlier in Group G with relative ease.

The hosts were cruising thanks to goals from Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro in the first half, and England's Jude Bellingham, 19, added a late third.

The Scottish champions Celtic lost to Real in Glasgow after failing to capitalize on a promising start as Callum McGregor hit the post before the Spanish powerhouses used their experience to their advantage.

On minute 56, Vinicius Junior, who scored the game-winning goal in the season finale last year, gave the game its first goal. Luka Modric soon doubled the lead.

In place of the injured Benzema, Eden Hazard scored his first goal for the team since January to secure the victory.

Ancelotti told BT Sport, It was like two games, the first half we suffered a little with energy, the second half we had control.

The way Celtic started did not surprise us. We were aware of their quick starting speed. They struck the post, which was fortunate for us.

In the other Group F match, Shakhtar Donetsk dominated RB Leipzig 4-1 in Germany.

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar, who hadn't played in their hometown since 2014, didn't have any competitive matches this year until August 23.

Since FIFA permitted international players and coaches to suspend their contracts and leave the club, they have lost a number of important players.

After Mohamed Simakan's equalizer, Marian Shved scored twice on his complete debut. Shakhtar was guaranteed to win thanks to Mykhaylo Mudryk and Lassina Traore.

Dinamo Zagreb marred Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Champions League debut for Chelsea, giving them a terrible start.

After being paired with Dinamo, Red Bull Salzburg, and AC Milan in Group E, Thomas Tuchel's team was predicted to breeze through the division.

But when Mislav Orsic's first-half goal punished the Blues for yet another poor performance, their mission might not be that straightforward.

After spending $280 million on new players since the end of the last campaign, Tuchel is under pressure to deliver championships in return for such a huge outlay.

It is obvious that we are not where we should and could be. So finding solutions is my responsibility as much as ours. Everything is currently missing, according to Tuchel.

Italian champions Milan started their trip to Salzburg with a 1-1 draw after Alexis Saelemaekers overturned Noah Okafor's opening goal for the hosts.