The Netherlands edged a 3-2 thriller with Ukraine in the pick of the Euro 2020 matches to date, while England and Austria also got off the mark in their opening group games on Sunday.
Denzel Dumfries was the late hero for the Oranje with his first international goal to sink Ukraine, who had battled back from two goals down in Amsterdam to temporarily level things.
Austria also left it late to see off minnows North Macedonia 3-1 in Bucharest earlier in the day and England beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley through a well-taken Raheem Sterling strike.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at some of the best facts from across Sunday's entertaining action at Euro 2020.
England 1-0 Croatia: Three Lions make winning start at Wembley
Sterling's first goal at a major international tournament in his 13th appearance was enough for England to overcome Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
Croatia offered very little in response as England made it 11 straight victories in games in which Sterling has scored – the best-such win rate of any player in the nation's history.
The Three Lions are now unbeaten in 12 games at Wembley in major tournaments (exluding penalty shoot-outs), winning eight and drawing four of those matches.
The victory for Gareth Southgate's side in their Group D opener was their seventh in a row in all competitions – their best such run since March 2015 under Roy Hodgson.
It was also the first time England have won their opening game at a European Championship finals in their 10th participation in the tournament.
That is in contrast to Croatia, who lost their first match in the competition for the first time, having won four and drawn one of the previous five.
The contest was also a special occasion for England substitute Jude Bellingham, who at 17 years and 349 days became the youngest ever player to feature at the Euros.
Austria 3-1 North Macedonia: Substitutes strike late to deny tournament debutants
North Macedonia's first ever game at a major tournament ended with a late defeat to Austria in Bucharest.
Aged 37 years and 321 days, 120-cap Goran Pandev became the second-oldest goalscorer in the competition when cancelling out Stefan Lainer's opener.
That was just Lainer's second goal for Austria, with his only other international strike coming against North Macedonia in qualifying.
Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic were introduced to snatch the three points for Austria – their first ever win at the European Championships in what was their seventh game.
In doing so, Gregoritsch and Arnautovic became the first pair to score from the bench for the same country in the competition since Michy Batshuayi and Yannick Carrasco for Belgium (v Hungary) in 2016.
Arnautovic's goal to make certain of the win was his 27th for Austria at senior level, with three of those coming against North Macedonia – more than he has managed against any other country.
Netherlands 3-2 Ukraine: Oranje leave it late to edge thriller
The Netherlands ended a run of four straight defeats at the European Championship with a dramatic victory against Ukraine in Amsterdam.
All five goals were scored in the second half, making it the highest-scoring fixture in the competition's history after a goalless first half.
The first half may have ended scoreless, but the tempo was set early on as there were nine shots in the opening 10 minutes – a tournament record since Opta started recording such data in 1980.
Georginio Wijnaldum opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with his 15th goal in 26 appearances for Oranje, having scored only eight times in his first 50 games for his national side.
Wout Weghorst added a second soon after, but Andriy Yarmolenko pulled one back with a sublime strike to end a run of 72 shots without a goal for Ukraine at the Euros.
From the visitors' very next attempt, Roman Yaremchuk headed in an equaliser to seemingly steal a point at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
But Dumfries found the back of the net in the 85th minute, making it the latest game-winning goal for the Netherlands at the Euros since current boss Frank de Boer scored an 89th-minute penalty against Czech Republic at Euro 2000.
Borthwick taking positives from 'frustrating' Autumn Series
England ensured they ended 2024 on a high note as they claimed a 59-14 victory over Japan, and coach Steve Borthwick is taking the positives from a difficult Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick's team lost three matches on the spin, going down to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, earlier this month.
However, they at least rallied to wrap up their year with an emphatic victory on Sunday, ending a five-match losing streak.
Captain Jamie George crossed twice in the first half, with Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme also going over before the interval, while Marcus Smith was on form with the boot.
Japan, coached by former England boss Eddie Jones, did score through a fantastic try from Naoto Saito, but England kept their foot on the pedal after half-time.
George Furbank rounded off a slick move after latching onto Tommy Freeman's exceptional pass, while Luke Cowan-Dickie went over twice, either side of Tom Roebuck's maiden international try, with Kazuki Himeno grabbing another consolation for the visitors.
While Borthwick knows England have plenty to improve on, he feels they are not too short of where they wish to be.
He said: "Reflecting on it, the obvious overriding feeling will be one of frustration to have come so close to getting results but not actually be able to convert them, I think that will be one aspect.
"The other aspect would be real positivity around some of the aspects we've seen the team play.
"I want them to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast. I think we've seen growth in that area over the last four weeks."
Reflecting on Sunday's display, he added: "I'm really pleased with the way the players approached the game and the way they kept their discipline to play the way we want to play.
"You can see the identity they're trying to build as a team, one that moves the ball and can score in different ways.
"Some of the tries were exceptional. Over the past four weeks, we've scored some really outstanding tries. With the skill level that's in the group, I'm really pleased they took it onto the grass."
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
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