European Cup Round-Up: The Old Lady Astonish Borussia Dortmund Thanks to Dramatic Brace in Eight-Goal Spectacle

What a thrilling first matchday in the Champions League, featuring Juventus and Borussia Dortmund splitting an incredible eight second-half scores as Qarabag stunned Benfica in a turnaround.

Stoppage-Time Magic Secure Incredible Draw

Dusan Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly scored in added time to inspire a dramatic comeback for the Turin side, enabling them to claim a four-all tie in a match where every one of the goals were scored post-half-time.

The hosts found themselves down 4-2 when Vlahovic scored his brace of the night in the fourth minute of stoppage time and Lloyd Kelly capped the fightback 120 seconds later to take a portion of the result.

Frenetic After the Break

After a quiet opening 45, BVB got the first score just after the restart post-interval as Adeyemi drilled a accurate strike into the far corner from outside the 18-yard box. Juventus pulled one back in the 63rd minute through Yildiz, who collected the pass on the fringe of the area, composed himself and guided a superb effort into the net to electrify the Juventus fans.

The excitement were brief, though, as Felix Nmecha reclaimed Dortmund’s edge barely two minutes later with a clinical instant finish from range.

The game’s tempo displayed little indication of letting up, and by the 68th minute the Bianconeri were level again, Vlahovic bursting on to a expertly placed pass to place past Gregor Kobel in BVB’s sticks.

The excitement carried on in the 74th minute, when the wing-back’s low effort trickled between the keeper and a post to put the visitors into the lead. BVB were granted a spot-kick late on from time, when Lloyd Kelly was penalised for handball with Ramy Bensebaini netting from the penalty spot. Late in added time, Vlahovic netted once more from a pinpoint ball before turning provider for Kelly, who nodded in the leveler to cap a period to cherish.

Upset Result for Qarabag

The Portuguese giants squandered an two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to the underdogs, with the substitute netting the Azerbaijani club’s match-winner late on from full-time.

The hosts appeared in charge when Enzo Barrenechea put them into the lead in the opening minutes with a deflected nod from a set-piece and Vangelis Pavlidis shot on the spin to extend the cushion 10 minutes later. Leandro Andrade hammered a instant effort past Anatoliy Trubin, though, and the visitors came close to equalizing when Kady Borges hit the upright and the shot-stopper made an brilliant save from Jankovic’s second shot.

The Azerbaijani club were tied just after after the interval when Camilo Durán burst on to a defence-splitting assist from Jankovic and drilled a instant strike into the far corner but Qarabag were still pushing.

A huge kick upfield from the Qarabag goalkeeper located Kashchuk outside the area and he executed a give-and-go with Zoubir before curling a effort past the goalie to silence the Estadio da Luz.

Additional Scores

  • Union Saint-Gilloise enjoyed a dream first appearance in the tournament opening round by stunning the Dutch side 3-1 in a intense regional derby.
  • Arsenal secured a comfortable win at Athletic Bilbao.
  • Spurs edged past the Yellow Submarine one-zero.
  • Real Madrid came from behind to overcome the French team 2-1.
Melissa Adams
Melissa Adams

Certified Scrum Master with over 10 years of experience in leading Agile transformations and coaching teams to success.