Eintracht Frankfurt kicked off their first Champions League campaign since 2022/23 in emphatic fashion, dismantling Galatasaray 5-1 in Thursday’s group-stage opener.
The visitors struck first after just eight minutes when Leroy Sané surged forward and fed Yunus Akgün, who cut inside and finished neatly.
But Dino Toppmöller’s men responded with ruthless efficiency. Ritsu Dōan pounced on a defensive slip to force Davinson Sánchez into an own goal on 37 minutes, sparking a flurry of Frankfurt strikes.
Can Uzun fired in brilliantly on the swivel in first-half stoppage time, and moments later, Wilfried Singo inadvertently headed Fares Chaïbi’s free-kick past his own goalkeeper to leave Gala shell-shocked at the break.
The misery deepened in the 66th minute when Sánchez deflected Jonathan Burkardt’s header beyond Ugurcan Çakır for his second own goal of the night.
Ansgar Knauff then punished a loose Gabriel Sara pass with a clinical finish to seal Frankfurt’s five-star performance.
Elsewhere, Sporting CP marked their return to Europe’s elite with a 4-1 win over debutants Kairat. Former Barcelona forward Francisco Trincão struck twice, while Alisson Santos and Geovany Quenda were also on target as all four goals arrived in a devastating 24-minute spell.
Despite a missed penalty from Morten Hjulmand, Edmilson Santos etched his name in history by netting Kairat’s first-ever Champions League group-stage goal.
Club Brugge also enjoyed a memorable night, sweeping aside Monaco 4-1 at the Jan Breydel Stadium. After Simon Mignolet atoned for an early error by saving Maghnes Akliouche’s penalty, Nicolo Tresoldi and Raphael Onyedika put Brugge in command.
Captain Hans Vanaken added a stunning volley before Mamadou Diakhon capped the scoring, rendering Ansu Fati’s late strike nothing more than consolation.
Galatasaray’s nightmare continued as they became the first team to twice concede multiple own goals in a Champions League game, having previously done so against Astana in 2015. They now hold the joint record with nine total own goals in competition history.
In Bruges, Mignolet, aged 37 years and 196 days, became the sixth-oldest goalkeeper to save a Champions League penalty. He was later forced off with injury, becoming only the second keeper to both save a spot-kick and be substituted in the same game, after Oliver Kahn in 2000.
