Double pen and Madrid win again!

It's been proven once again - the Champions League is Real Madrid's competition! Marseille survived the first half, the La Liga side survived the second, and in the end, Los Blancos triumphed!

During the opening 45 minutes, Olympique's custodian Geronimo Rulli made as many as ten saves, but still, the rivals were tied 1-1, thanks to Timothy Weah, who broke the deadlock in the middle of Madrid's dominance midway through the first period. Nine minutes later, Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty kick and levelled.

However, Xabi Alonso's men were nowhere near at the same level after the break, and their victory was under even bigger doubt when Dani Carvajal was sent off for headbutting Rulli in the 72nd minute.

Nevertheless, the home crew received "compensation" from the refs, being awarded a suspicious penalty nine minutes later, which Mbappe sent home, netting a critical winner. Yet, the days to come will undoubtedly bring intriguing reactions.

Since the first referee's whistle, the visitors have had enormous trouble with Madrid's pressing, while the clash ended for Trent Alexander-Arnold after only five minutes, as he suffered an injury. Only 71 seconds into the game, Kylian Mbappe was close to scoring with a bicycle kick. At the quarter-hour mark, Los Blancos already had eight attempts, five of which went on target, while their youngest-ever UCL starter, Franco Mastantuono, hit the post.

Real to complain to FIFA over refereeing in Spain

On the other hand, Marseille struggled to get the ball to the rivals' half. The first time they managed to do it, Timothy Weah missed a chance. The second time - the American broke the deadlock and stunned the packed Santiago Bernabeu in the 22nd minute!

Arda Guler lost the ball to Mason Greenwood, who initiated a hasty counter and assisted Weah for the opener.

However, the visitors' joy lasted only seven minutes, as Xabi Alonso's men quickly responded with a leveller. Geoffrey Kondogbia tackled Rodrygo in the box, and the ref Irfan Peljto had no doubt - a penalty! Mbappe was impeccable from the spot, bagging his 11th goal in the 17th duel against Marseille.

By the end of the first half, Madrid wasted several more chances, mainly over Mbappe and Mastantuono, while L'OM threatened one more time through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Still, the home team was way better, as Los Blancos had 18 attempts and Marseille keeper Geronimo Rulli collected as many as 11 saves only in the first 45 minutes!

Madrid's dominance continued after the break, as Mbappe hit the bar after only five minutes. Aubameyang hit back six minutes later, but Thibaut Courtois was excellent. However, given that the half-time result was the same at the hour-mark, Alonso was forced to react and sub in his "heavy artillery" - Vinicius Junior and Brahim Diaz.

Yet, the Spaniard's strategy fell apart shortly, as Madrid's captain and the man who had replaced Trent, Dani Carvajal, headbutted Olympique's custodian Rulli and was sent off, leaving his team with a man down in the last 20 minutes.

Still, that wasn't the last of "interesting" ref's decisions. Nine minutes before the end, Los Blancos were awarded another penalty - as suspicious as it gets - which Mbappe sent home, giving his crew a vital lead! However, this spot kick will undoubtedly be discussed in the upcoming days, especially since the visitors failed to bounce back and snatch at least a point.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1

Tuesday

Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)

/Martinelli 72, Trossard 87/

PSV - St. Gilloise 1-3 (0-2)

/Van Bommel 90 - David 9 pen, Ait El Hadj 39, Mac Allister 81/

Benfica - Qarabag 2-3 (2-1)

/Barrenechea 6, Pavlidis 16 - Andrade 30, Duran 48, Kashchuk 86/

Juventus - Dortmund 4-4 (0-0)

/Yildiz 64, Vlahovic 68, 90+4, Kelly 90+6 - Adeyemi 52, Nmecha 65, Couto 75, Bensebaini 83 pen/

Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille 2-1 (1-1)

/Mbappe 29 pen, 81 pen - Weah 22/

Tottenham - Villarreal 1-0 (1-0)

/Luiz Junior 4 og/

Wednesday

19.45: (1.45) Olympiakos (4.40) Paphos (7.50)

19.45: (1.85) Slavia Praha (3.60) Bodo (4.30)

22.00: (4.10) Ajax (3.50) Inter (1.90)

22.00: (1.67) Bayern (4.25) Chelsea (4.85)

22.00: (1.62) Liverpool (3.90) Atl.Madrid (5.60)

22.00: (1.50) PSG (4.50) Atalanta (7.25)

Thursday

19.45: (2.80) Club Brugge (3.40) Monaco (2.50)

19.45: (3.20) Copenhagen (3.40) Leverkusen (2.25)

22.00: (2.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Galatasaray (3.40)

22.00: (1.70) Man.City (3.60) Napoli (5.30)

22.00: (3.15) Newcastle (3.50) Barcelona (2.20)

22.00: (1.08) Sporting (12.0) Kairat Almaty (25.0)

***odds are subject to change***