FOOTBALL

US striker Christian Pulisic scored straight from a corner – and admitted it was an accident – as AC Milan beat Brugge 3-1 to end their wait for a Champions League win.

Pulisic surprised everyone when he curled in a kick from the left corner flag in the 34th minute to give Milan a 1-0 lead.

“Today it was a bit of luck, but it’s still worth a goal. I am very happy,” said a smiling Pulisic in Italian. “I didn’t try that, but it was a good cross, I will say that, and after a nice, nice goal, but I didn’t try that.”

• Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid turned boos into cheers with a 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Madrid trailed 2-0 at half-time in a repeat of last season’s final.

• Paris Saint-Germain settled for a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.

• Aston Villa became the first team with three wins in the new Champions League format, beating Bologna 2-0.

• Arsenal needed an own goal to edge past Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0, losing left back Riccardo Calafiori to an apparent knee injury.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Paul George’s debut with the Philadelphia 76ers has been postponed and Joel Embiid will once again miss time due to injury.

Embiid and George will play the season opener against Milwaukee on Wednesday and could miss more games.

George, who left the Los Angeles Clippers and signed a four-year, $212 million contract as a free agent this summer, suffered a bone bruise when he hyperextended his left knee during a preseason game.

Embiid did not play during the preseason due to a sore left knee.

The Bucks will also be without one of their most important players. All-Star forward Khris Middleton is recovering from offseason surgeries on each of his ankles.

HOCKEY

NHL: Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers have agreed on a contract extension, the team announced.

Maurice was in the final year of a three-year contract, and it was clear that the Panthers intended to keep him around after he took the team to the Stanley Cup Final and won the Cup in each of his first two seasons. June had won.

LECTURES

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: USC star JuJu Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers headline the Associated Press Preseason All-America team, which for the first time features three sophomores, a clear sign that the young talent in a sport is behind a record year of fan interest has a back.

Watkins and Bueckers were unanimous choices by the 30-member national media panel that selects the AP Top 25 each week. They were joined by Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, Madison Booker of Texas and Kiki Iriafen of USC. Watkins, Hidalgo and Booker are all second-year players.

TENNIS

SWISS INSIDE: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune kept their slim hopes of reaching the ATP Finals alive with victories in Basel, Switzerland.

11th-ranked Tsitsipas outlasted Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), while 14th-ranked Rune defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-6 (3). The top eight seeded players will qualify for the final next month in Turin.

Also Tuesday, Ben Shelton defeated sixth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4.

CAR RACING

TRUCK SERIES: Former child actor and “Malcom in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz revealed he will race in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 33 F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing.