Berlin, 17 September 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Record winners Real Madrid saw Dani Carvajal sent off but still started the new Champions League season with a 2-1 home win against Olympique Marseille, while Juventus fought back for a late 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Luiz Junior scored an own goal in the fourth minute to give Tottenham a 1-0 home win against Villarreal, while Benfica led 2-0 but fell to a 3-2 defeat to Qarabag.

Earlier, Arsenal defeated Atheltic Bilbao 2-0 and Union Saint-Gilloise made their Champions League debut with a 3-1 win against PSV.

Madrid magic strikes again

There are several reasons why Madrid are known as Champions League kings and their remarkable late comebacks are among those.

In their most recent title run in 2023-24, they were on their way out in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich but Joselu scored twice in the 88th and in stoppage time to book a spot in the final, in which they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0.

On Tuesday, Madrid again needed some Champions League magic to turn the game around with 10 men on the pitch.

Marseille broke the deadlock in the 22nd as Mason Greenwood dispossessed Arda Güler to set up Timothy Weah, who fired the opener beyond Thibaut Courtois.

But Madrid didn't take long to equalize. Rodrygo was brought down inside the box by Geoffrey Kondogbia and Kylian Mbappé stepped up to make it 1-1.

Before the break, both sides got close to scoring again. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beat Eder Militão in the 39th but his shot went wide, while Geronimo Rulli made a big save in the 41st to deny Mbappé.

A victory for Madrid looked difficult after Carvajal was sent off in the 72nd for deliberately hitting Rulli's face with his head when the ball was not in play.

But Madrid were awarded another penalty after Facundo Medina used his hand to clear the ball in the box and Mbappé was again on target in the 81st.

Eight-goal thriller in Italy

Juventus, meanwhile, scored twice in stoppage time - after falling behind three times - to secure at least a point from the home match against Dortmund.

Karim Adeyemi broke the deadlock for the Germans in the 52nd but his opener was cancelled out by Kenan Yıldız in the 63rd. Dortmund hit back in just two minutes and retook the lead with Felix Nmecha, but Dušan Vlahović equalized once again for the hosts.

Goals from Yan Couto and Ramy Bensebaini, who converted a penalty in the 86th, seemed to be enough for Dortmund to return home with the three points.

The Bundesliga side led 4-2 until the fourth minute of stoppage time, when Vlahović pulled one back. Two minutes later, Lloyd Kelly was on target to salvage a stunning draw for Juve.

"I'm happy about the goal I scored but, when you're two goals ahead and feel that victory is in the bag, it's disappointing to be caught up like that," Nmecha told UEFA.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel added: "We can't allow ourselves to draw after playing such an awesome game and securing three important points."

Saint-Gilloise debut with victory

Belgian champions Saint Gilloise made their Champions League debut in style.

Promise David converted a penalty in the ninth minute to give them the lead and Anouar Ait El Hadj doubled it with a fine individual effort in the 39th.

Ruben van Bommel pulled one back for PSV in the 90th but that was too late for a comeback after Kevin Mac Allister had already scored Saint Gilloise's third in the 81st.

Arsenal, meanwhile, will be thankful to their substitutes for a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.

Gabriel Martinelli needed less than a minute after coming on to make an impact for Arsenal.

The defence cleared a ball in their own half and fellow substitute Leandro Trossard produced the final assist with a flick to find Martinelli. The Brazilian surged forward, cleared the defenders and the goalkeeper to find the back of the net in the 72nd minute.

Trossard then added one goal to his name in the 87th and secured Arsenal the three points.

Photo: EPA