Aston Villa made a fine return to Europe's elite as they began their Champions League campaign with an accomplished 3-0 victory over Swiss club Young Boys on Tuesday.
Villa, European Cup winners in 1982 and playing in UEFA's premier club competition for the first time since 1983, had to survive some early pressure but were good value for their victory once they made the breakthrough.
Youri Tielemans fired Villa in front in the 27th minute after being picked out by John McGinn's deep cross, and Unai Emery's men never looked back from there.
They doubled their advantage 11 minutes later, Mohamed Ali Camara's terrible back pass selling Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos short and allowing Jacob Ramsey to tap home.
The visitors had goals by Ollie Watkins and substitute Jhon Duran disallowed for handball either side of half-time, but Amadou Onana put the icing on the cake four minutes from time, drilling a superb effort into the bottom-left corner from 25 yards out.
The one concern for the visitors was the sight of star forward Watkins receiving treatment on his ankle following his 60th-minute withdrawal, just four days out from a Premier League derby against Midlands rivals Wolves.
Villa will face sterner Champions League tests in the coming months, with Bayern Munich visiting Villa Park on matchday two and Juventus, RB Leipzig and Monaco also lying in wait.
Data Debrief: Impressive introduction for Rogers
Tielemans, Ramsey and Onana may have scored the goals, but Villa's star of the show was Morgan Rogers, who laid on four chances for his team-mates.
Not only was that the most of any player on the pitch, ahead of Watkins and Young Boys forward Filip Ugrinic (three each), but it is also the most by any Englishman on their Champions League debut since Marc Albrighton for Leicester City in 2016 (four versus Club Brugge).
Villa became the 11th different English side to play in the Champions League since it was rebranded in 1992, but just the fourth to win their first match.
Manchester United (4-2 versus IFK Goteborg in 1994), Newcastle United (3-2 against Barcelona in 1997) and Leicester (3-0 versus Brugge in 2016) also did so.
AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool: Reds recover from early scare for winning start
Liverpool celebrated their return to the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over AC Milan at San Siro on Tuesday, overcoming a shaky start for a comfortable triumph.
The Reds got off to an awful start when Christian Pulisic finished Milan's deadly counter-attack in the third minute, aided by Liverpool's disorganised defending on their return to the competition after a year's absence.
Arne Slot's side turned things around, however, as Ibrahima Konate equalised in the 23rd minute when he leapt high above a crowd of defenders to head in Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick.
Virgil van Dijk put Liverpool ahead after nodding home Kostas Tsimikas' corner prior to the break before Dominik Szoboszlai sealed victory in the 67th minute, slotting into the far corner from Cody Gakpo's cross after Milan gave up possession.
Slot's first Champions League game at the helm of Liverpool ended in deserved victory, and it was a terrific response from his team after their shock 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Defensive delight for Reds
With Konate and Van Dijk both on target, Liverpool had two defenders score in the same Champions League game for the first time.
It marked a fitting way for Van Dijk to celebrate a landmark appearance, becoming just the third Dutch player to score on his 50th outing in the competition, after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Makaay (both in 2005).
Alexander-Arnold's assist for Liverpool's equaliser was also his 80th for the Reds. Since his debut in October 2016, only Kevin De Bruyne (146) and team-mate Mohamed Salah (90) have provided more in all competitions among Premier League players.
Those defensive performances at the other end of the pitch helped Liverpool to a fifth win in their last six away games against Italian sides in all competitions (L1), having won just three of their first 14 such visits (D3 L8).
Slot delighted by birthday treat after Liverpool's Champions League recovery
Arne Slot hailed Liverpool's recovery powers as the Reds marked their manager's birthday with a battling Champions League victory over AC Milan.
Liverpool's return to the competition after a one-year absence got off to a terrible start as Christian Pulisic fired home just three minutes into Tuesday's clash at San Siro.
Ibrahima Konate swiftly restored parity with a header from Trent Alexander-Arnold's free-kick before Virgil van Dijk marked his 50th appearance in the Champions League with a first-half finish.
Dominik Szoboszlai made sure of the opening-game win after the break as Milan capitulated to a 3-1 defeat in front of their disappointed home supporters.
Victory ensured Slot celebrated his 46th birthday in style, overseeing three points in his first European game in charge of his new club.
"A great way to spend my birthday," the Dutchman said on Amazon Prime.
"We have more than 11 players and the ones that came in did well. You wouldn't have said this after five minutes, but after we did well."
Liverpool were rocked by an early-season Premier League blow on Saturday, falling down 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield in a shock result.
Former Feyenoord boss Slot was delighted with the reaction as Liverpool made it five wins in their last six away games in Italy in the Champions League.
"Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early here, you are wondering how we react," Slot added.
"But if you can play so good it is – I won't say a disgrace – unbelievable you lose to Forest at home if you can play like this [at Milan]."
Van Dijk became just the third Dutch player to score on his 50th appearance in the competition, after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Makaay (both in 2005).
The Liverpool captain lauded his side's ability to bounce back in what was billed as a battle between two European heavyweights, having shared memorable Champions League finals in 2005 and 2007.
"Obviously I am very pleased with the win and I am pleased with the way we bounced back after a difficult start," Van Dijk told Sky Italy.
"When there is a set-piece we try to be important. The delivery was outstanding in my opinion. I am very pleased that we won and we limited them to only two big chances.
"We have been very successful over the years and I am always grateful for that. Things have moved on, the new manager is here and he has principles that are different.
"We are working on things and there are still things to improve."
Ten Hag level-headed despite Man Utd's 'perfect night' in EFL Cup
Erik ten Hag was not getting carried away after another positive Manchester United result on a "perfect night" in the EFL Cup.
United were reeling after a 3-0 humbling at home to rivals Liverpool prior to the international break, but they bounced back by beating Southampton by the same scoreline on Saturday.
And Ten Hag's side then swept aside Barnsley on Tuesday for the biggest win of his United tenure, with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen each scoring twice in a 7-0 triumph.
It appears United's fortunes have changed, but their manager will not rush to make judgement.
"I was not devastated after Liverpool; I'm not now celebrating," Ten Hag told the media afterwards.
"We are on a journey, and we will see where we are in May, because then we have to be good and we have to be at our best. In the meantime, we have to progress the team."
Of the Barnsley match, though, he said: "For me and for the team, it's the perfect night.
"We did everything we planned to do; we win, next round, scored lots of great goals, entertained the fans, we worked on our game model. So, yeah, we are happy."
Rashford's goals were an obvious highlight, adding to his first of the campaign against Southampton as the United forward suddenly looks to have regained his confidence.
"Confidence is a big part of it," Ten Hag added. "It's not everything – there are also other parts – but confidence is a big part.
"Rashford is a big guy, he's scored so many goals. In the list of United goalscorers, he's at the top of it. So, he's a big guy, but you're as good as your last game, and every time you have to prove it.
"I have seen the biggest guys, the biggest football players when they are not performing, when the strikers are not scoring, and they drop in confidence. It doesn't matter who."
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