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Jose Mourinho marked his return to the Champions League with Real Madrid by overseeing a 2-1 win against former club Inter Milan on Tuesday, while Erling Haaland struck twice as Manchester City opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory at Porto.
Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund also picked up three points on the first night of the league phase, the Champions League's expanded opening stage in which teams compete in a single overall standings table.
Real Madrid, the record 15-time European champions, went two goals up in the first half at the Santiago Bernabeu after capitalizing on mistakes in the Inter defense.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute after Yann Bisseck was put under pressure, allowing Brahim Diaz to send the French forward through. Mbappe finished quickly to bring his Champions League total to 71 goals, drawing level with former Real Madrid striker Raul.
Fede Valverde then doubled the advantage after Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez hesitated on the ball inside his own penalty area, allowing the Uruguay international to close him down and turn the loose ball into the net.
Inter pushed back strongly and forced Thibaut Courtois into several saves before Carlos Augusto pulled one back from Lautaro Martinez's cross in the 77th minute.
Courtois, making his 100th Champions League appearance, kept Inter out again late on as Madrid held on for all three points.
Mourinho, who guided Inter to the Champions League title in 2010 before taking over at Real Madrid for the first time, said neither side had been able to fully control the contest.
"It was a crazy game. A game that finished 2-1 could have finished 7-6 without any problems," Mourinho said.
Valverde was named player of the match but pointed to Courtois' contribution, saying the goalkeeper's performance had helped Madrid get over the line.
Manchester City also made a successful start as Haaland scored both goals in a 2-0 away win against Portuguese champions Porto.
The Norwegian broke the deadlock shortly after halftime by heading in Enzo Fernandez's cross before wrapping up the victory in stoppage time.
Haaland has now scored 59 goals in 59 Champions League appearances.
Fernandez praised the striker's impact after the match, saying, "Erling Haaland is an animal. He is a beast, so every time he is on the pitch, I'm going to look for him and hopefully give him many more assists."
The result gave City, the 2023 Champions League winners, a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Aston Villa, last season's Europa League winners, came away from Belgium with a 3-2 victory against Club Brugge after putting together a strong first half.
John McGinn opened the scoring before Hugo Vetlesen equalized for the Belgian champions. Emiliano Buendia quickly restored Villa's lead, while Nicolas Jackson made it 3-1 shortly before halftime after goalkeeper Yann Sommer rushed out of his area and failed to reach the ball.
Nicolo Tresoldi converted a penalty in the second half and later struck the post, but Villa held on.
Manager Unai Emery said the victory represented an important step forward for his side's confidence and stability after a difficult opening to their domestic campaign.
Borussia Dortmund also began with a 3-2 home win over Villarreal in a match dominated by Serhou Guirassy's involvement at both ends.
Renato Veiga's own goal put Dortmund in front before Santiago Mourino headed Villarreal level.
Guirassy restored Dortmund's lead with 10 minutes remaining and then converted a penalty to make it 3-1. Villarreal pulled another goal back in stoppage time when a Gregor Kobel save rebounded off Guirassy's face and into his own net.
Real Betis twice came from behind to beat Lille 3-2 in France, with Troy Parrott scoring the winner in the 53rd minute.
Marc Bartra had twice brought Betis level after goals from Ayase Ueda and Alexsandro before Parrott completed the comeback. Lille later went down to 10 men when Ethan Mbappe was sent off.
The victory marked Betis' return to the Champions League after a 21-year absence.
Elsewhere, Greek champions AEK Athens defeated Austrian title holders LASK 1-0 after Razvan Marin scored from a free-kick.
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