Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk soared to score with a header in the second minute of stoppage time to seal a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid when it seemed his team was going to waste a two-goal lead seized after just six minutes.
Bayern Munich and Inter Milan both won rematches of past finals — against Chelsea and Ajax, respectively — to start their eight-game league-phase programmes, and newcomers Bodo/Glimt and Pafos impressed with hard-earned draws on the road.
PSG cruised to a 4-0 win at home over Atalanta and had the luxury of a penalty miss by Bradley Barcola not mattering much in the end.
Liverpool seemed to be sailing with early goals from Andy Robertson and a typically fine strike by Mohamed Salah but were pegged back by Marcos Llorente’s goals in first-half stoppage time and the 81st.
Llorente also scored twice at Anfield in 2020 when Atletico eliminated the then-defending champion in the round of 16.
Bayern held off Chelsea 3-1 with two goals from Harry Kane, whose England team-mate Cole Palmer scored an impressive goal for the visitors.
Inter got two powerful headed goals from Marcus Thuram in its 2-0 win at Ajax, who beat the Italians in the 1972 European Cup final.
Norway’s champion Bodo/Glimt had a second-half penalty kick saved and trailed by two goals late at Slavia Prague, before rallying to level at 2-2 in the 90th.
Pafos ground out a 0-0 draw at Olympiakos after playing with 10 men from the 26th minute. Journeyman Brazilian midfielder Bruno Felipe was sent off for a second yellow-card foul.
Liverpool have won all four of their Premier League games this season with winning goals after the 80th minute, and twice in the last minute of stoppage time.
So when Atletico Madrid levelled late at Anfield, there was ample time for coach Arne Slot’s team to find the goal it needed. Dominik Szoboszlai swung in a corner from the right, and Virgil van Dijk wrestled away from his marker and steered a strong header back inside the near post.
— AP
