Celtic kicked off their Champions League campaign with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava.
The Hoops ran riot in the second half against the Slovakian side with four goals after Liam Scales opened the scoring at Parkhead.
Kyogo Furuhashi doubled their lead shortly after the break before Arne Engels sent Brendan Rodgers’ men into a comfortable lead.
Kevin Wimmer pulled one back with a superb strike with the outside of his book but Celtic’s dominance remained as Daizen Maeda made it four.
Their fifth, from a fifth different scorer, came four minutes from time as Adam Idah tucked a cool finish home to secure Celtic’s first win in an opening Champions League game in glorious style.
Celtic have won their opening game of a Champions League campaign for the very first time!
They did it with their biggest ever victory in the competition 👏 pic.twitter.com/7R1aQjyTj3
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 18, 2024
📰 Table Of Contents
Gazzaniga howler gifts PSG victory
Paris Saint-Germain had to wait until the 90th minute to get past Champions League debutants Girona in a 1-0 victory.
The LaLiga side had kept their star-studded opponents quiet for much of the encounter before goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga’s own goal gifted the hosts the win.
Gazzaniga allowed Nuno Mendes’ cross to spill through his legs and into the net to break Girona’s hearts after a discplined display at the Parc des Princes.
Three late strikes seal Dortmund win
English youngster Jamie Bynoe-Gittens continues his excellent start to the season with two goals at Borussia Dortmund beat Club Brugge 3-0 away from home.
Brugge had prevented last season’s finalists from finding the breakthrough until the 76th minute when Bynoe-Gittens’ effort deflected in off two players.
The substitute had his second moments late when he took it past two players before coolly slotting home, with Serhou Guirassy making it three from the spot in stoppage time.
20 year old Jamie Gittens is averaging a goal every 45 minutes so far this season for Dortmund 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1bjSz5S0Ea
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 18, 2024
Sparta Prague win on Champions League return
Sparta Prague marked their return to the Champions League for the first time in almost 19 years with an emphatic 3-0 win over FC Salzburg.
It took less than two minutes for them to score on their return when Kaan Kairinen found the net.
Victor Olatunji doubled their lead before the break with a fine volley before Qazim Laci’s effort rounded off a memorable night in the second half.
Shakhtar miss penalty as Bologna held
Bologna’s first ever Champions League game ended in a goalless draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Serie A side, appearing in Europe’s elite competition for the first time since a preliminary round appearance in 1964-65, earned a hard-fought point with the Ukrainians on their bow.
Heorhiy Sudakov missed from the penalty spot just four minutes into the game for the away side, with no side either to find the breakthrough as Bologna’s unbeaten home run extended to 28 games.
Wednesday’s Champions League results
Bologna 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Sparta Prague 3-0 FC Salzburg
Celtic 5-1 Slovan Bratislava
Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Girona
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
