Champions League: Gazzaniga gives PSG victory, Gittens lifts Dortmund double | Champions League

An embarrassing late blunder from Gerona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga gifted Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 home win, meaning the Champions League debutants were unable to pick up another point.

After continued pressure from PSG, Nuno Mendes played a low pass to Gazzaniga, who looked good, but in injury time he let the ball slip through his hands and into the net, giving the home side the victory they deserved given the balance of play.

Girona’s defence effectively neutralised PSG’s attack in the first half, but the French champions began to dominate in the second half, with Ousmane Dembélé being denied by Ladislav Krejci’s last-ditch effort and then hitting the woodwork shortly after the hour.

With the visitors seemingly happy to play for a draw, Randal Kolo Muani narrowly missed with a shot before Gazzaniga saved Achraf Hakimi’s half-volley from close range with his legs. Luis Enrique’s side registered 26 shots to Girona’s three but looked to be growing frustrated until Gazzaniga’s late gift.

Jamie Gittens scored two goals and Serhou Guirassy added a penalty in the closing stages. Borussia Dortmund punished hosts Club Brugge for a number of missed opportunities with a 3-0 victory.

Last year’s beaten finalists were lucky, but took the lead when England winger Gittens, who came on as a second-half substitute, struck in the 76th minute. Gittens collected the ball on the left side of the penalty area and his angled shot was deflected twice before slotting into the far corner of the net.

The 20-year-old made it all three points with a superb solo effort, again tearing through the Brugge defence before firing a low shot into the net. Dortmund added a third in injury time when another substitute, Serhou Guirassy, ​​converted the penalty after being brought down in the box by Brandon Mechele.

Brugge will feel aggrieved after Hugo Vetlesen hit the crossbar at 0-0 and saw a number of penalties waved away. The Belgian side were also wasteful in front of goal, particularly in the first half when they squandered several excellent chances to take the lead, and paid the price when Dortmund came into their own late in the game.

Earlier, Sparta Prague returned to the Champions League in style, beating Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 in their first match in Europe’s top club competition in 19 years.

The Czech champions opened the scoring after just two minutes when Kaan Kairinen seized a loose ball after a great save from Salzburg keeper Janis Blaswich and effortlessly slotted home the rebound.

Victor Olantuji doubled the lead in the 42nd minute, firing home from a difficult angle after a long ball from captain Filip Panak. Olantuji then set up Qazim Laci to make it 3-0 after a blunder by the Austrian defence in the 58th minute.

Bologna were held to a 0-0 draw by the visitors Shakhtar Donetskwho missed an early penalty in a lackluster match. The hosts were playing their first European Cup match since 1964 and were awarded a penalty after four minutes when Stefan Posch clumsily brought down Eguinaldo.

Heorhiy Sudakov’s penalty was saved by Bologna keeper Lukasz Skorupski, however, and it proved to be the best chance of a cautious match played in torrential rain. Bologna’s two best chances came either side of half-time, with Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk denying Santiago Castro and Giovanni Fabbian.

The first round of the new ‘league phase’ will be played over three days, with six matches – including Atalanta vs Arsenal, Monaco vs Barcelona and Atlético Madrid vs Leipzig – on Thursday evening.