Virgil van Dijk scored a thrilling late goal to secure a 3-2 victory for Liverpool over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Paris Saint-Germain began their title defense with a dominant win against Atalanta.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane scored twice, leading Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, the Club World Cup champions. Both Pafos and Bodo/Glimt celebrated their Champions League debuts with hard-fought draws.
Liverpool, featuring new club-record signing Alexander Isak, quickly gained a two-goal advantage in the first six minutes, as Atletico struggled defensively at Anfield.
A Mohamed Salah free-kick deflected off Andy Robertson to open the scoring in the fourth minute. Salah then doubled the lead by slotting Ryan Gravenberch’s pass into the corner.
Atletico regained composure and reduced the deficit in first-half injury time.
Marcos Llorente, who scored twice in Atletico’s memorable win at Anfield five years ago, found the net from the edge of the box, beating Alisson Becker.
Liverpool missed multiple opportunities to regain their lead, including Salah hitting the post. Llorente capitalized with a deflected volley to equalize for Diego Simeone’s side.
However, Arne Slot’s side, unbeaten in their first four Premier League games, found a winner again.
This time, captain Van Dijk scored a decisive header from Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner in the 92nd minute.
“We kept pushing,” Van Dijk said. “We found a way again. I’m glad I got the winner. You have to keep going and show the resilience we’ve shown for years.
“It was another great European night here. We’ve shown many times that we’re capable, and today I was the lucky one with the winner.”
Atletico coach Simeone received a red card after clashing with Liverpool fans post-goal.
PSG Dominates Atalanta
PSG started their Champions League campaign as reigning champions with a 4-0 win over Atalanta in Paris.
Captain Marquinhos opened in the third minute, followed by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal six minutes before the break.
Bradley Barcola missed a penalty, but Nuno Mendes added a third goal after halftime.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos scored in stoppage time, sealing a perfect night for PSG.
“It was perfect, but the team’s win was most important,” Kvaratskhelia told uefa.com.
Kane Leads Bayern Over Chelsea
Bayern took an early lead against Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, reminiscent of the 2012 final.
Trevoh Chalobah’s own goal and a Harry Kane penalty put Bayern ahead. Cole Palmer’s goal for Chelsea was not enough.
Malo Gusto’s error gave Kane another goal, securing Bayern’s win.
“A great result,” Kane told DAZN. “It was a strong performance against a tough opponent.”
Inter Milan, finalists last season, began with a 2-0 win at Ajax.
Marcus Thuram scored twice from Hakan Calhanoglu corners.
Earlier, Bodo/Glimt came from two down to draw 2-2 at Slavia Prague.
Youssoupha Mbodji’s goals had Slavia poised for victory until late goals from Daniel Bassi and Sondre Brunstad Fet for Bodo/Glimt.
Pafos, new to the tournament, earned a goalless draw at Olympiakos, despite losing Bruno to a red card and David Luiz to injury.
