REPUBLIC OF IRELAND duo Caitlin Hayes and Saoirse Noonan were part of history as Celtic contested the group stages of the Women’s Champions League for the first time, but a landmark night ended in defeat.
Dutch club Twente beat the Hoops 2-0 in Glasgow thanks to a Kayleigh van Dooren brace either side of the interval.
Celtic’s Irish internationals both started. Noonan, who has been in sensational goalscoring form for her new club, played 77 minutes, while Hayes went the distance.
Also in Group B, Chelsea began their hunt for Champions League glory with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid.
Sjoeke Nuesken and Guro Reiten gave Chelsea the lead before Alba Redondo pulled one back for the visitors before half-time.
Mayra Ramirez struck in the second half to restore Chelsea’s two-goal advantage. A late Linda Caicedo tap-in set up a nervy finale at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier, eight-time winners Lyon eased to a comfortable victory against debutants Galatasaray. A trio of headers from Kadidiatou Diani, who scored twice, and Vanessa Gilles gave last year’s beaten finalists the perfect start to the group stages.
“They had a lot of fight and it’s never easy to combat that, but that’s football and that’s the Champions League. We’re so happy to come away with the win,” said Lyon defender Gilles.
In the Italian capital, a 14th-minute penalty converted by new captain Manuela Giugliano was enough for Roma to upset two-time champions Wolfsburg 1-0.
The visitors struck the woodwork twice after the break but were left frustrated as Roma held on to take all three points and go second in Group A — behind Lyon on goal difference.
On Wednesday, Arsenal (Katie McCabe) visit Bayern Munich and Champions League holders Barcelona start their title defence at Manchester City (Tara O’Hanlon and Eve O’Carroll).
- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy
