Arsenal and Liverpool made winning starts to their Champions League campaigns with hard-fought victories over Italian opposition. Arsenal won 1-0 at Napoli thanks to Martin Odegaard’s goal after sustained pressure, with Mikel Arteta saying his side deserved more but acknowledging how difficult Napoli made the night. For Napoli, the defeat was a third straight loss. Max Allegri said Arsenal needed an extraordinary moment of quality to break through, and the Italians’ problems deepened when Alex Meret went off at half-time and Alisson Santos was ruled out for a while.

Liverpool edged Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield, where Alexis Mac Allister scored the winner and earned praise for an outstanding display. There was some concern over Bradley Barcola and Cody Gakpo, but Andoni Iraola said neither issue was expected to become a long-term problem, even though Barcola took a blow during the match.

Real Madrid also opened with a win, beating Inter Milan 2-1 at the Bernabeu as Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde scored. Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez apologized to supporters after the error that helped decide the game. Manchester City began with three points as well, winning 2-0 at Porto with Erling Haaland scoring both goals.

Paris Saint-Germain produced the night’s biggest result, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 as Ferran Torres hit a hat-trick. Aston Villa ended their early-season goal drought with a 3-2 win at Club Brugge, while Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 despite a late own goal, with Serhou Guirassy scoring twice.