Champions League Day 1 Highlights: Mbappe Shines, Kane Sets Record, and Endrick’s Historic Debut

Endrick continued to put himself first despite having Vinicius Jr. to his right and Kylian Mbappe to his left as he completed an incredible Real Madrid debut on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.

Brazilian sensation Endrick scored his first goal for Carlo Ancelotti’s team as Mbappe-starrer Real Madrid opened their title defence with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over tenacious VfB Stuttgart at the Santiago Bernabeu. Endrick had just exchanged wedding vows and earned the nickname “Bobby” in the Galacticos’ locker room.

On the first day of play in the largest club competition in Europe, Real Madrid, the current champions, opened their accounts ahead of Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Juventus. At the storied Allianz Arena in Munich, six-time champion Bayern Munich set the bar high by thumping Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 to start the 36-team Champions League campaign under a new format that allows for nine goals. After drawing first blood at San Siro, seven-time champion AC Milan lost to Liverpool, while hosts Sporting CP defeated Lille 2-0.

1. Young Yildiz representing Juventus like Del Piero

Before the 2024–2025 season, Aston Villa, a Premier League team, participated in a European competition; the youngest generation of Villa followers was not even born. In their first away game, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa defeated BSC Young Boys 3-0 to become the 11th English club to compete in the Champions League.

Serie A powerhouse Juventus defeated PSV 3-1 to mark their return to the Champions League. With a goal reminiscent of Alessandro Del Piero’s, little Kenan Yildiz overcame the Italian icon to become the Old Lady’s youngest-ever Champions League scorer. Due to UEFA club licensing and FFP rules violations, Juventus was banned and did not participate in the final season of the European competition.

2. In the Champions League, Kane overcomes Wayne

Goal-machine Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s record on the first day, reigniting the greatest England striker argument in the annals of the beautiful game. In the 11-goal match, the Bayern Munich forward scored four goals against Dinamo Zagreb.

As far as English players go, Kane has the most goals in the Champions League. With 33 goals in the Champions League, Kane has now surpassed the Manchester United and Everton legend by three goals. For the team led by Vincent Kompany, the England hero scored twice from the penalty spot. Bayern broke the record for most goals in a Champions League game with Kane’s goal-scoring antics.

3. Endrick makes his Un-Real debut; Mbappe succeeds for Blancos

After playing a quiet first half against Stuttgart, reigning champion Real Madrid atoned for their lackluster performance by scoring the first goal through Mbappe seconds into the final 45 minutes at the Bernabeu. For Los Blancos, Mbappe’s first Champions League goal was made possible by Rodrigo. With his 49th goal in the Champions League, Mbappe has tied Alfredo Di Stefano’s goal total, just one goal behind the legendary Frenchman Thiery Henry.

It’s interesting to note that Mbappe wasn’t the only rookie in the Champions League to score for the top teams in La Liga. Wonderkid Endrick scored Madrid’s first goal of the new season with a left-footed strike from outside the area just 15 minutes after making his Champions League debut. Endrick, who is 18 years and 58 days old, has surpassed club great Raul Gonzalez to become the youngest player in Real Madrid’s Champions League history to score.