DUSAN Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly scored in stoppage time to inspire a dramatic Juventus escape at home as they secured a 4-4 draw at home to Borussia Dortmund in their UEFA Champions League opener last night, with all eight goals coming in the second half.
The hosts trailed 4-2 when substitute Vlahovic grabbed his second of the night in the fourth minute of stoppage time, before he set up Kelly two minutes later to secure a point.
Man-of-the-match Vlahovic, who came on just before the hour mark, was disappointed not to have completed his hat-trick.
The first half gave little indication of the drama to follow, with Juventus going closest when Khephren Thuram’s deflected strike forced a sharp save from Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund found the breakthrough eight minutes after the restart as Karim Adeyemi rifled a precise shot into the far corner from just outside the box.
They nearly doubled their lead when Serhou Guirassy was denied by a reflex stop from Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio.
The hosts drew level in the 63rd minute through Kenan Yildiz, who collected the ball on the edge of the area, steadied himself and bent a superb shot into the far corner to ignite the Juventus fans.
The celebrations were short-lived, however, as Felix Nmecha restored Dortmund’s advantage barely two minutes later with a crisp first-time finish from distance.
The game’s tempo showed no sign of slowing, and by the 68th minute Juventus were level once more, Vlahovic racing onto a perfectly weighted pass to slot past Kobel.
The frenzy continued in the 74th minute, when Yan Couto’s low strike squirmed between Di Gregorio and ... to put Dortmund back in front.
The visitors were awarded a penalty four minutes from time after Kelly was penalised for handball, with Ramy Bensebaini converting from the spot.
Juve launched a last-ditch offensive and deep into stoppage time, Vlahovic struck again from a well-placed cross before turning provider for Kelly, who headed in the equaliser.
A lengthy VAR review for a possible offside held up the celebrations, before the Allianz Stadium erupted once more as the equalising goal was confirmed.
Juventus scored four goals for a second straight match after their 4-3 league win over Inter Milan on Saturday, but coach Igor Tudor stressed the need for his side to tighten up defensively.
Earlier in the evening, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard came off the bench to score as Arsenal beat Spanish side Athletic Club 2-0 to get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
Martinelli scored just 36 seconds after being introduced, with Belgium forward Trossard putting him through on goal in the 71st minute.
The Brazil winger then returned the favour, beating his man and giving the ball to Trossard to squeeze in the second in the 86th minute.
It was a tough match for Arsenal at times and Bilbao-based Athletic Club, back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2014-2015 season, were backed by a vociferous home crowd and started the game extremely fast.
The home side had Arsenal pinned back for the opening period of the game, with Alejandro Berenguer causing particular problems for the Arsenal backline.
Arsenal struggled to get hold of the game in the first half but did have the best chance of the opening 45 minutes when Viktor Gyokeres put a diving header wide from close range.
Gyokeres ended the match with a bandage around his head after a heavy clash of heads with team-mate Gabriel, when the pair attempted to head the same ball goalwards.
The Gunners had been struggling to create a clear opening in the match before Mikel Arteta introduced Martinelli and Trossard in the second half.
Martinelli has had a difficult time in recent months, with a drop in form – and had started the last two games on the bench with new signing Eberechi Eze starting on the left wing – but will hope that the goal and assist will give him the lift he needs.
Arsenal have invested about £250m in their squad this summer and that depth was again on show as Arteta had quality options to choose from on the bench.
It was not one of the best performances from Arteta’s side but, with three points and another clean sheet in the opening game, their Champions League campaign has started perfectly.
In Spain, Kylian Mbappe scored two penalties as 10-man Real Madrid battled to a 2-1 victory over Marseille in their Champions League opener.
Los Blancos were handed an early blow when Trent Alexander-Arnold pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury after only three minutes.
And they suffered another setback when the England full-back’s replacement, Dani Carvajal, was sent off with 18 minutes left after he faced off with Geronimo Rulli and moved his head towards the Marseille goalkeeper.
But the 15-time European champions emerged victorious thanks to Mbappe, who twice stepped up to slam spot-kicks past Rulli, taking his club tally to six in five games this season.
The two goals took Mbappe’s Real Madrid tally to 50 in 64 games, making him the second fastest player to reach 50 goals with Real Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo.
Timothy Weah had opened the scoring for Marseille in the 22nd minute, beating Thibaut Courtois with a powerful strike after former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood stole possession from Arda Guler in the middle of the pitch.
But their lead lasted just six minutes as Mbappe, who had come close to scoring in the early stages with an acrobatic bicycle kick, converted his first penalty after Geoffrey Kondogbia had brought down Rodrygo in the box.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twice came close to restoring the French side’s lead, but dragged the first effort wide, before Courtois punched away the ex-Arsenal captain’s second strike.
Even after Carvajal’s red card, Real continued to create chances and were rewarded for their efforts when visiting defender Facundo Medina handled following a strong challenge to stop Vinicius Jr in the box.
Once again, Mbappe kept his cool and his penalty had enough pace to beat Rulli, who had guessed the right way.
Real are looking to reclaim their crown, having failed to defend their title last season after falling to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Xabi Alonso, in his first season in charge, will also be keen for the club to better last term’s league phase, where Real finished 11th and needed to go through the play-offs to reach the knockout stages.
Agency reports
RESULTS
Athletic Club 0-2 Arsenal
PSV 1-3 Union SG
Benfica 2-3 Qarabag
Juventus 4-4 Dortmund
Real Madrid 2-1 Marseille
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal