Chelsea, Manchester United win on Champions League return

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – English football giants Chelsea and Manchester United on Tuesday both recorded victories on their return to the UEFA Champions League.

English Premier League champions Chelsea thrashed Azerbaijan’s Qarabag FK 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in London on their return to European football’s top club competition.

Goals from Pedro Rodriguez and Davide Zappacosta gave the Blues a two-goal lead at half-time before Cesar Azpilicueta, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi, and an own-goal after the break sealed the win.

Before the match, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said his side were not going to underestimate their “tricky” opponents, but would focus on victory.

“We must pay great attention. These types of games I like to call these games ‘tricky games.’ And, we must pay great attention,” he said during a pre-match press conference.

Meanwhile, Premier League rivals Manchester United defeated Swiss opponents FC Basel 3-0 at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Marouane Fellaini scored in the first half to give the Red Devils the lead before Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford scored one each in the second half.

Chelsea failed to qualify for the Champions League after a 10th place finish in the Premier League during the 2015/16 season.

However, the Blues were crowned Premier League champions in May which meant automatic qualification in this season’s group stage.

Manchester United hadn’t qualified for the competition since playing in the 2015/16 season where they were eventually eliminated at the group stage.

The Premier League giants won the Europa League (the second-tier European club competition) last year to ensure direct qualification into this year’s group stage.

For all the results in today’s Champions League matches, click here.