Inter, Atletico make winning starts

PARIS: A stunning Mauro Icardi volley sparked a thrilling late Inter Milan comeback as the Italian side beat Tottenham 2-1 on their return to the Champions League after a seven-year absence on Tuesday as Atletico Madrid battled back to beat Monaco. PSG, who lost to Liverpool 3-2, next face Red Star Belgrade, who marked their return to the big time with a 0-0 draw against Napoli. Spurs wounded Barcelona, who demolished PSV 4-0, next go to London to face Tottenham Hotspur, who suffered a wounding 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan. Having lost their last two Premier League games, Spurs were on course for a welcome win via Christian Eriksen’s second-half opener, which went in via a wicked deflection. But Mauro Icardi’s brilliant late volley brought the hosts level, and Matias Vecino headed in a stoppage-time winner for Inter, back in the Champions League for the first time since 2011-12. “We are suffering a little bit but that’s not an excuse,” said Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. After winning the Europa League last season, Atletico Madrid are targeting Champions League glory with the final to be played in their own stadium. They started their campaign by beating Monaco 2-1 away in Group A, Diego Costa and Jose Maria Gimenez getting their goals after Samuel Grandsir put the hosts in front. In the same group, Christian Pulisic celebrated his 20th birthday in style by scoring a fortunate late goal that gave Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win away to Club Brugge. Dortmund’s bitter rivals Schalke started off with a 1-1 draw against FC Porto in an eventful Group D encounter. Breel Embolo gave the German side a second-half lead, firing past Iker Casillas, who has now played in the Champions League in a record 20 separate seasons. That was after Alex Telles had an early penalty saved for the visitors. But Porto, who won the Champions League in Schalke’s Gelsenkirchen stadium in 2004, equalised when Otavio converted another penalty late on. Meanwhile, Garry Rodrigues and Eren Derdiyok netted, and Selcuk Inan scored a penalty, as Galatasaray beat Lokomotiv Moscow 3-0 in Istanbul. — AFP