Champions League LIVE SCORES: Latest updates as Man City take on Inter Milan and Celtic host Slovan Bratislava

Fast starts in both early kick-offsBoth matches have gotten off to rapid starts, with Kaan Kairinen putting Sparta Prague ahead in their clash with RB Salzburg.

While Shakhtar have missed a golden chance to take the lead in Italy.

Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski pulled off a superb save to deny Georgiy Sudakov the opener from the penalty spot.

And we’re off!We’re underway in both of the early Champions League games tonight – we’ll bring you goal updates and any major incidents as they happen.

Countdown to kick-offThe first two matches of the evening are now just 15 minutes away with Bologna hosting Shakhtar and RB Salzburg visiting Sparta Prague.

Here’s how the four teams are lined up:

Bologna: Skorupski, Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Lykogiannis, Fabbian Freuler, Moro, Orsolini, Castro, Ndoye.

Shakhtar: Riznyk, Konoplya, Bondar, Matviyenko, Pedrinho, Bondarenko, Kryskiv, Sudakov, Eguinaldo, Sikan, Zubkob.

Sparta: Vindahl-Jensen, Vitik, Panak, Zeleny, Preciado, Laci, Kairinen, Wiesner, Birmancevic, Olatunji, Haraslin.

RB Salzburg: Blaswich, Dedic, Piatkowski, Blank, Mellberg, Capaldo, Bajcetic, Clark, Gloukh, Yeo, Dorgeles.

Supercomputer predictionThe new points system for reaching the Champions League KO phase is causing a headache for many fans.

But at least a supercomputer has predicted how 

No longer do we have eight groups of four teams.

Instead there’s 36 teams in one huge league, with each team playing eight games against different opposition.

The top eight make the last 16 automatically, while ninth to 24th face a play-off round.

Opta has now assessed that 15 is the most likely points total needed to end up in the top eight.

They reckon there’s a 44.934 per cent chance that tally will be enough.  

Opta’s stat work also concluded it’s 53.463% likely 15 points would ensure teams avoid the bottom 12. 

That’s extra important as new Uefa rules mean Champions League clubs no longer drop into the Europa League.

‘Pep reinvented my brain’John Stones reckons he went from knowledgeable to know-nothing… thanks to Pep Guardiola!

Manchester City’s England defender was shocked by the Spaniard’s incredible insights.

The Prem champs hosts Inter Milan in the Champions League at 8pm tonight.

And Stones said: “I thought I knew football to a decent degree and understood the game.

“Pep made me feel like I knew nothing; he’s opened my eyes to so much.

“He’s kind of reinvented my brain towards football and what football is.”

Credit: News Group Nrewspapers Ltd

Tonight’s Champions League action

• Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk – 5.45pm
• Sparta Prague vs Red Bull Salzburg – 5.45pm
• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava – 8pm
• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund – 8pm
• Manchester City vs Inter Milan – 8pm
• PSG vs Girona – 8pm

Kane proud of achievementHarry Kane has admitted his pride at surpassing Wayne Rooney’s record thirty goals in the Champions League,

He told Amazon Prime: “Whenever you’re in a conversation with Wayne Rooney it means you’re doing something well.

“He’s one of the greatest English players and one of the best players there was in the game.

“It’s a nice achievement.”

Credit: Instagram @harrykane

Record breaker KaneHarry Kane became the top English goalscorer in the Champions League.

His four goals against Dinamo Zagreb saw him reach 33 goals in the tournament, three more than Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 30.

Kane’s outing also saw him net his 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd goals for Bayern Munich in just his 50th game for the club.

It was also the first time a team has managed nine goals in a single Champions League game,

Credit: Getty

Credit: Reuters

Last night’s round-upIt was a great night for the English sides as Liverpool and Aston Villa both got off to a winning start.

The standout result is Bayern Munich’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb as they scored NINE, including four from Harry Kane.

• Juventus 3-1 PSV
• Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
• AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
• Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
• Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
• Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille

Tonight’s fixturesHere is a look at tonight’s Champions League fixtures.

The two early kick-offs see Bologna take on Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Prague face Red Bull Salzburg.

Manchester City face Inter Milan at 8pm while Celtic start their campaign against Slovan Bratislava.

• Bologna v Shakhtar Donetsk (17:45)
• Sparta Prague v Red Bull Salzburg (17:45)
• Celtic v Slovan Bratislava (20:00)
• Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund (20:00)
• Man City v Inter Milan (20:00)
• PSG v Girona (20:00)

More from InzaghiThe Italian coach has insisted he is not out for revenge against Manchester City after the Champions League final defeat to the club in 2023.

He said: “I watched it the following week and then last month during the pre-season.

“I don’t think it’s revenge because tomorrow is a league-phase game.

“I have no regrets because my team gave their all in Istanbul.

“It’s a new competition, we have to prepare for eight different games.

“It will be more demanding, but it’s a format that will surely work well. We want to have a great journey.”

‘Know what to do’, InzaghiInter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has claimed that his players know what they have to do in order to get a result against Manchester City.

He said: “We face a highly organised team.

“They haven’t lost at home for years. We know what we have to do.

“We have prepared for the game in one day, but we know what we have to do.

“We know we’ll need an enormous performance. The lads are aware of it.”

Credit: Getty

Pep compares Inter to BrentfordPep Guardiola has compared Inter Milan to Brentford ahead of their Champions League clash tonight.

He said: “Historical team and incredible mentality. They are built to win every single game and to win every competition. 

“Last year they won a lot and that means in the mindset of the players they can do it, which is similar to us. 

“They have good high pressing and go man to man so they are similar to Brentford [in that regard] and after they defend with typical Italian mentality that they have to suffer. They are also strong in set pieces. Incredible qualities. 

“Good guys from second line, especially [Nicolo] Barella. I don’t know if he will be fit tomorrow but every time from [Federico] Dimarco crosses arrive with four or five players in the box. 

“You cannot reach the Champions League final and win Serie A with 90 per cent of the same players if you don’t have something special.”

Credit: EPA

Tielemans hit out at formatAston Villa ace Youri Tielemans has criticised the new Champions League format.

Despite his excitement to play in Europe’s premier competition, he is aware that the increased games will make it “tougher”.

He said: “I’m very excited. Every game’s going to be really tough. This new format makes it even tougher.

“It’s going to come down to the details in the end, after the eight games. it’s going to be tough.”

Gakpo happy with showingCody Gakpo admitted that he was thrilled with his performance in Liverpool’s win over AC Milan.

He told Amazon Prime: “I think we had more chances but they were dangerous in moments as well. We controlled the game pretty good and it’s a fair result for us.

“We stayed calm and stayed focus. We have to thank our centre-backs for two great headers. After that moment we controlled the game better.

“We work on set-pieces before every game and we’re very happy it worked out today.

“Every player wants to play and I got my moment. I really wanted to show myself and I am very happy with an assist but also especially with the win.”

Credit: AFP

Emery dedicates win to ShawUnai Emery dedicated Aston Villa’s Champions League win to club legend Gary Shaw, who passed away earlier in the week.

He said: “First of all, this victory is for Gary Shaw.

“We can follow in the Champions League, winning like they [1982 team] finished and we want to celebrate this victory and dedicate it to Gary Shaw and the Aston Villa family.

“It’s always difficult away and our experiences last year show it. We played focussing very well in 90 minutes and being consistent, respecting them.

“They started pushing in the first 15 minutes. We defended well and were progressively adapting to the pitch.

“We imposed our capacity to beat them, always respecting them.”

Top scorersKane’s four goals have seen him open up a decent lead as the top scorer in the Champions League.

Record breaker KaneHarry Kane became the top English goalscorer in the Champions League.

His four goals against Dinamo Zagreb saw him reach 33 goals in the tournament, three more than Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 30.

Kane’s outing also saw him net his 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd goals for Bayern Munich in just his 50th game for the club.

It was also the first time a team has managed nine goals in a single Champions League game,

Credit: Getty

Credit: Reuters

Tonight’s fixturesHere is a look at the next round of Champions League fixtures.

• Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
• Sparta Praha vs RB Salzburg
• Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund
• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
• Manchester City vs Inter Milan

Scores round-upIt was a perfect night for the English sides as Liverpool and Aston Villa both got off to a winning start last night.

The standout result is Bayern Munich’s hammering of Dinamo Zagreb as they scored NINE, including four from Harry Kane.

• Juventus 3-1 PSV
• Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
• AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool
• Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
• Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
• Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille

Slot’s happy birthdayArne Slot with thrilled with Liverpool’s win over AC Milan to give himself a happy birthday.

He told Amazon Prime: “A great way to spend my birthday. 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.

“Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early tonight, you are wondering how we react.

“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 today.

“I would have played Cody Gakpo on Saturday but he played two games for the national side. Today was more a team display than an individual display.”

Credit: Getty

Slot full of Gakpo praiseArne Slot insisted that Cody Gakpo followed in the footsteps of some other Dutch players with his Man Of The Match performance against AC Milan.

He said: “He took to the occasion of playing at a stadium that’s had some unbelievable Dutch midfielders.”

Credit: Getty

Endrick opens Champions League accountEndrick netted his first Champions League goal as Real Madrid started their title defence with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart.

The Brazilian fired home from 25 yards to score his side’s third of the match.

Credit: EPA

Tomorrow’s fixturesHere is a look at the next round of Champions League fixtures…

• Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
• Sparta Praha vs RB Salzburg
• Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund
• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
• Manchester City vs Inter Milan

Kane celebrates his four goalsHarry Kane smashed four goals against Dinamo Zagreb, with three coming from the spot.

Credit: EPA

Credit: Getty