Europe’s top club football tournament returns with another classic, as Arsenal eased past Bilbao with two second-half goals, Mbappé inspired Madrid to victory, and Juventus and Dortmund played out an exciting eight-goal draw. Qarabag made history with their first-ever win in the competition.

In the Basque Country, the Gunners travelled to face Athletic Club and came away with a 2–0 win after the break. The intense showdown saw Mikel Arteta’s side win through two superb goals from substitutes Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who combined to assist each other.

The deadlock was broken when the Brazilian finished brilliantly after a clever pass from the Belgian winger. Minutes later, Martinelli returned the favour, setting up Trossard for a close-range strike that sealed Arsenal’s lead.

At the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid hosted French side Olympique Marseille, with Xabi Alonso avoiding a debut defeat thanks to Kylian Mbappé, who netted his 50th goal for the club.

The night started poorly for Los Blancos as Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up a hamstring injury, forcing Dani Carvajal to step in, only for the right-back to later be sent off. Marseille struck first in the early minutes when Timothy Weah finished smartly from a Mason Greenwood pass.

Under pressure, Madrid fought back through a penalty after a clumsy tackle by Kondogbia on Rodrygo, which Mbappé converted with ease. After the break, Carvajal’s red card left Madrid down to ten men. Another soft spot-kick decision by the referee, confirmed by VAR, gave Mbappé the chance to convert his second spot-kick of the night, sealing the victory for his side.

Italy and German clubs clashed, with Juventus facing Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League curtain-raiser that delivered an eight-goal thriller after a goalless first half. Dortmund opened the scoring with a strike from Karim Adeyemi, but Juve responded with youngster Kenan Yildiz levelling with an amazing finish.

Felix Nmecha then put the visitors ahead again just seconds after the restart. Almost immediately, Dušan Vlahović scored the equaliser, keeping Juventus in the game. Later, Yan Couto and Ramy Bensebaini scored to put Dortmund 4–2 up.

However, in an incredible turn of events, Vlahović was back on the score sheet in injury time and then assisted Lloyd Kelly, who headed in the dramatic equaliser to allow the game to end in a 4–4 draw in Turin.

Azerbaijan Premier League side Qarabağ FK beat Benfica in Lisbon with a 3–2 comeback victory, fighting back from two goals down, and the breakthrough came through goals from Andrade, Marquez, and substitute Kashchuk to seal their first-ever win in the competition.

In other Tuesday fixtures, Union St. Gilloise secured a well-deserved 3–1 victory over PSV Eindhoven, while Tottenham won against Villarreal with a single goal.

Attention now turns to the clashes on Wednesday and Thursday as Bayern Munich host World Champions Chelsea, Liverpool face Atlético Madrid, PSG take on Atalanta, Manchester City meet Napoli, and Newcastle United go head-to-head with Barcelona.