Roma upsets Wolfsburg while Lyon and Chelsea both win as women's Champions League begins

Roma opened its women's Champions League campaign with an upset 1-0 win against two-time champion Wolfsburg, while record eight-time winner Lyon eased past tournament debutant Galatasaray 3-0 and Chelsea held on to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Tuesday.

The most impressive performance belonged to Roma, considering it finished bottom in last season's group stage.

“It’s a huge victory, a result that we wanted at all costs,” Roma coach Alessandro Spugna said. “I think it is our best (result) in Europe. We delivered an intelligent performance, understanding the game and managing the difficult moments well."

All of Lyon's goals were headers, with France striker Kadidiatou Diani getting two of them in the other Group A match.

After Lyon lost the final to Barcelona last season, Lyon's coach Sonia Bompastor left to replace Emma Hayes at Chelsea.

Bompastor's new side was in charge for long spells at Stamford Bridge, before sloppy defending gave Madrid a late lifeline.

Roma took the lead early on at Tre Fontane stadium through captain Manuela Giugliano's 14th-minute penalty following a foul by right back Lynn Wilms.

Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp made her 99th competition appearance and is one away from becoming only the second player to reach 100, after Lyon’s Wendie Renard.

But it was defender Marina Hegering who was Wolfsburg’s most dangerous threat, and she twice went close with headers as the 2023 runner-up chased an equalizer.

Goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar made several saves to keep out the German side.

“We knew we were facing a top team, but we prepared well," Roma midfielder Giada Greggi said. "These games make you grow in every aspect: mental, technical, tactical.”

Lyon won the trophy five consecutive times during its heyday and was runner-up last season to Barcelona.

Diani headed in a 34th-minute cross from Mali winger Tabitha Chawinga, who assisted again moments before the break with a looping left-wing cross to give Canada's Vanessa Gilles an easy header from near the goal line.

Galatasaray goalkeeper Gamze Yaman denied Lyon before Diani nodded in Amel Majri's left-wing cross in the 77th.

Ada Hegerberg, who won the first women’s Ballon d’Or, went close to adding to her record 64 competition goals when she glanced a header wide in stoppage time.

Bompastor was replaced at Lyon by Joe Montemurro.

French hopes firmly rest with his side after Paris Saint-Germain — a semifinalist last season — was eliminated by Juventus in qualifying.

Hayes left Chelsea to lead the United States women and immediately made her mark with gold at the Paris Olympics.

Not seeing her patrolling the touchline must have felt unfamiliar for home fans after her 12 years in charge, which included a semfinal loss to Barcelona last season.

But they were cheering in the second minute when Sjoeke Nüsken forced the ball in after challenging for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s cross with Madrid defender Sheila Garcia.

Midfielder Guro Reiten's crisp penalty made it 2-0, but Madrid pulled one back shortly before the break when forward Alba Redondo's low shot went through the legs of goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.

A looping header from Colombia striker Mayra Ramírez made it 3-1 early into the second half.

Chelsea looked in control but some muddled defending led to a scramble and Colombian Linda Caicedo pounced for the Spanish side in the 84th.

In Group B’s other game, midfielder Kayleigh van Dooren struck in each half as Dutch side Twente won 2-0 at Celtic.

Barca’s quest for a third straight title begins on Wednesday with a trip to Manchester City, while Swedish club Hammarby faces St. Pölten of Austria in the other Group D game.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Chelsea's Guro Reiten celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League group B soccer match between FC Chelsea and Real Madrid in London, England, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

FC Twente's Kayleigh van Dooren, right, celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage match between Celtic and Twente at New Douglas Park, Hamilton, Britain, Tuesday Oct. 8, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Lucy Bronze, left, and Real Madrid's Alba Redondo, right, challenge for the ball during the women's Champions League group B soccer match between FC Chelsea and Real Madrid in London, England, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Chelsea's scorer Mayra Ramirez and her teammate Guro Reiten, right, celebrate their side's thirrd goal during the women's Champions League group B soccer match between FC Chelsea and Real Madrid in London, England, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Chelsea's players huddle up before the women's Champions League group B soccer match between FC Chelsea and Real Madrid in London, England, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Guro Reiten scores her side's second goal during the women's Champions League group B soccer match between FC Chelsea and Real Madrid in London, England, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

AS Roma's Elena Linari during a women's Champions League Group A soccer match between AS Roma and Wolfsburg at the Tre Fontane stadium in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

Wolfsburg's head coach Tommy Stroot during the women's Champions League Group A soccer match between Roma and Wolfsburg at the Tre Fontane stadium in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

Wolfsburg's Svenja Huth , left, kicks the ball past Roma's Giada Greggi during the women's Champions League Group A soccer match between Roma and Wolfsburg at the Tre Fontane stadium in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

AS Roma's Manuela Giugliano kicks the 1-0 goal against Wolfsburg during a women's Champions League Group A game between AS Roma and Wolfsburg at the Tre Fontane stadium in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germans began Saturday mourning another violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers on Friday evening, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities called a deliberate attack.

Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old who has been living in Germany for nearly two decades and practicing medicine there. He was arrested Friday evening at the site of the attack as medical officials tended to the injured, and was taken into custody for questioning.

But on Saturday there were still no answers as to what caused the man to drive into a crowd in the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg.

The violence shocked the country and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition. It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were due to travel to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a memorial service is to take place in the city cathedral in the evening.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives," Scholz wrote on X. "We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg.”

Magdeburg is a city of about 240,000 people, west of Berlin, that serves as Saxony-Anhalt’s capital. Friday’s attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove a truck into crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring many others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.

Verified bystander footage distributed by the German news agency dpa showed the suspect’s arrest at a tram stop in the middle of the road. A nearby police officer pointing a handgun at the man shouted at him as he lay prone, his head arched up slightly. Other officers soon arrived and took the man into custody.

The two people confirmed dead were an adult and a toddler, but officials said additional deaths couldn't be ruled out because 15 people had been seriously injured.

“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city," Saxony-Anhalt's governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters. “Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many.”

Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who moved to Germany in 2006 and who had been practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on X but did not mention the suspect’s connection to the kingdom.

Christmas markets are a German holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages, now successfully exported to much of the Western world.

Hours after Friday's tragedy, the wail of sirens clashed with the market’s festive ornaments, stars and leafy garlands.

Magdeburg resident Dorin Steffen told dpa that she was at a concert in a nearby church when she heard the sirens. The cacophony was so loud “you had to assume that something terrible had happened.”

She called the attack “a dark day” for the city.

“We are shaking,” Steffen said. “Full of sympathy for the relatives, also in the hope that nothing has happened to our relatives, friends and acquaintances.”

The attack reverberated far beyond Magdeburg, with Haseloff calling it a catastrophe for the city, state and country. He said flags would be lowered to half-staff in Saxony-Anhalt and that the federal government planned to do the same.

“It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring," the governor said.

Moulson reported from Berlin.

Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, center, is flanked by Tamara Zieschang, Minister of the Interior and Sport of Saxony-Anhalt, left, and Simone Borris, Mayor of the City of Magdeburg, at a press conference after a car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A police officer guards at a blocked road near a Christmas Market, after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Dörthe Hein/dpa via AP)

Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

A police officer guards at a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this screen grab image from video, special police forces attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Thomas Schulz/dpa via AP)

Reiner Haseloff (M, CDU), Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, makes a statement after an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

A police officer speaks with a man at a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A policeman is seen at the Christmas market where an incident happened in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

A firefighter walks through a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after a car drove into a crowd in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Emergency services work in a cordoned-off area near a Christmas Market, after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A view of the cordoned-off Christmas market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (Heiko Rebsch/dpa via AP)

A police officer guards at a blocked road near a Christmas market after an incident in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The car that was crashed into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market is seen following the attack in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Security guards stand in front of a cordoned-off Christmas Market after a car crashed into a crowd of people, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The car that was crashed into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market is seen following the attack in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday early morning, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Forensics work on a damaged car sitting with its doors open after a driver plowed into a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, early Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)