Red cards, late goals and huge upsets as the Champions League returned for 2025/26 this week in its usual dramatic fashion.
The Champions League is back in a big way, European football’s premier competition certainly doesn’t do things by halves. We saw some teams make their debuts, the return of some old faces and the usual suspects lining up once again all with dreams of lifting the big one in Budapest next May.
Across most of Europe the domestic football season has only just begun so there isn’t a lot of data to go on, and teams are beginning to feel each other out. Here’s how the first round of fixtures went down.
The Results:
Tuesday 16th September
Athletic Club 0-2 Arsenal
Athletic Club made their return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014/15. They were pretty handily beaten by a professional Arsenal display with both goals coming off the bench, Martinelli’s strike just 34 seconds after he entered the field. The Gunners have worked hard and spent big to improve their depth over the summer – can they go further than last season’s semi-final? And if not, how long until Arteta runs out of excuses?
PSV 1-3 Union St. Gilloise
Belgian champions Union St. Gilloise made their Champions League debut with an impressive win away at regulars PSV. USG’s team is cobbled together for very little money in comparison to other sides in the competition and is a real credit to their recruitment department. Captain Christian Burgess was playing in the English third tier for Portsmouth when they picked him up in 2020, now he’s leading his team out in the Champions League. USG have a tough draw but this result will give them so much confidence ahead of a tricky tie against Newcastle. PSV will hope the result isn’t a sign of things to come if they are hoping to repeat their successes from last season, reaching the round of 16.
Benfica 2-3 Qarabag
Qarabag came from 2-0 down to beat Benfica 3-2 away and cost Bruno Lage his job. If rumours are to be believed, Jose Mourinho is in line for the position. He will be relishing Benfica’s upcoming trip to Chelsea. Qarabag are the first Azerbaijani team to record a win in the competition, and with winnable ties against København, Athelic Club and Frankfurt in their draw, could they be a surprise inclusion in the knockout phase? Even if they lose their next 7, they’ve done their country proud.
Juventus 4-4 Dortmund
The Juve game was 0-0 at the break and you’d be forgiven for turning over or switching off completely. The longest gap between goals in the second half was an excruciating 12 minutes – Juventus pulling level from 4-2 down with 2 injury time goals from Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly of all people. He’s a long way from Bristol City now. Both teams have failed to make a meaningful impression domestically in recent years and will be hoping their solid starts to the league season will translate continentally for a deep run in this competition. I wouldn’t expect either to win it though.
Real Madrid 2-1 Marseille
Real Madrid are like a baddie in a film you love to hate. They’re evil, but it wouldn’t be the same without them. They were down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes after Dani Carvajal’s reckless sending off but Kylian Mbappe converted both of his penalties to win the game. Never bet against Real in this competition.
Tottenham 1-0 Villareal
Rounding off Tuesday’s action, Thomas Frank took charge of the first Champions League game of his career. He managed the game well, settling in after taking the lead early and never really looking like losing it. Spurs have one of the more favourable draws they could’ve gotten in this tournament so will be hoping for a strong league stage finish – automatic qualification to the last 16 via finishing in the top 8 is certainly within reach.
Wednesday 17th September
Olympiacos 0-0 Pafos FC
Pafos FC made their first ever appearance in the competition, and the Cypriot side earned a battling point away at Olympiacos. David Luiz (yes, that one) started for Pafos but was substituted with an injury after half an hour, and former Olympiacos player Bruno Felipe received a red card after just 26 minutes. Still, the away side worked hard to take home a point, Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar will be furious with his team for not picking up all 3 points with tricky games against Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid on the horizon.
Slavia Prague 2-2 Bodø/Glimt
Another debut! This time for last year’s Europa League semi-finalists Bodø/Glimt. They scored twice late on to rescue a point from 2-0 down in Prague. The hosts definitely had the better of the chances and will be gutted they haven’t seen out the win, but Bodø also missed a penalty at 1-0 down which could’ve made it a very different tie. The sides involved maybe weren’t as flashy as you’d expect from the Champions League but it was an excellent, pulsating game of football.
Ajax 0-2 Inter
Marcus Thuram continued his excellent goalscoring form at the start of the season, he now has 5 goals in 4 matches across Serie A and the Champions League. Ajax were limp and uninspiring, the home crowd will be disappointed they didn’t show more. Inter reached the final last year and will be hoping to go one better – but I fear it may be a difficult campaign for the ageing Italian side as Father Time catches up with them.
Bayern Munich 3-1 Chelsea
All four goals in the Bayern game were scored by Englishmen (including Chalobah’s own goal) – a great sign for Thomas Tuchel! Kane and Palmer are the headline players and they didn’t disappoint, both getting on the scoresheet and Palmer having another disallowed. Bayern dominated the ball and created some excellent chances, Michael Olise played about as well as you possibly can as a forward without scoring or assisting. Deserved winners and Chelsea’s enormous squad will have to bounce back, luckily they’ve only got Manchester United next.
Liverpool 3-2 Atletico Madrid
The late, late show arrived in Liverpool once again this season against Atleti. The home side have won every game this season in the 83rd minute or later, most of their goals coming in stoppage time. Cardiologists across Liverpool are working overtime! Had Atleti clinched a point, it would’ve been a robbery, but that’s what they’re best at under Simeone. Liverpool will need to start closing games out earlier if they’re to have a serious push at a seventh Champions League title this season, but I’m sure as their signings bed in they will hit full stride.
PSG 4-0 Atalanta
Defending champions PSG look as terrifying as last year, dispatching a good Atalanta side without really looking like they were trying. Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé missed the game through injury too, so when they’re back who knows how scary it could get? Atalanta will have to try and forget this result and write it off as playing the best team in the world at their peak. Brugge, Prague, Marseille and Frankfurt next, four fixtures the side from Bergamo will be eyeing as potential wins to get them through to the knockouts.
Thursday 18th September
Club Brugge 4-1 AS Monaco
A superb victory for the Belgians, mirroring the success of compatriots USG as they handily dispatched a Monaco side that have started life pretty strongly in Ligue 1. Monaco could barely lay a glove on Brugge as the game ran away from them with the home side taking a 3-0 lead into the half. Ansu Fati scored a consolation goal in stoppage time on his debut for the club, but Brugge had already taken their foot of the gas as they cruised to a valuable 3 points to open their European campaign.
FC København 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
The Xabi Alonso magic seems to have worn off at Leverkusen, with their team picked apart and new manager Erik Ten Hag relieved of his duties after just three games they look a shadow of their former selves. Alejandro Grimaldo bailed them out once again with a stunning free kick, his third direct free kick goal already of the season. The Danes will be buoyed by their strong performance but gutted to drop two points to a stoppage time own goal. Still, a lot to build on as they face a trip to Qarabag next time out.
Frankfurt 5-1 Galatasary
If you just looked at the scoreline you would be forgiven for thinking this was a demolition job. The Turkish side took an early lead and then, through a catalogue of misfortune and horrifying defending, Frankfurt scored five without answer. You have to watch the highlights to believe what happened here, the final goal in particular was a masterclass in how not to defend. Frankfurt will be delighted with a big win to aid their goal difference and I can only imagine the words exchanged in the Galatasary dressing room. They have won all five of their league games this year and only conceded once, so it was a real shock to their system when the goals kept flying in. Positives wise; it can’t get worse, can it?
Manchester City 2-0 Napoli
Kevin De Bruyne’s homecoming was cut short as he was sacrificed to restructure the team following a sending off. Against 10 men for 70 minutes, Man City cruised through the game without breaking a sweat. Scandinavian robot Erling Haaland also registered his 50th Champions League goal on his 49th appearance in the competition. Freak.
Newcastle 1-2 Barcelona
If I was Anthony Elanga today I’d be ignoring everyone in training. He put two chances on a plate for Gordon and Barnes as well as finding Joelinton for a free header with a corner and none were finished off. Marcus Rashford followed up with two goals and won the game for Barca, begging the question – could Ruben Amorim be wrong about something? Surely not. Gordon scored late but Barcelona take the 3 points back to Catalonia and continue their impressive unbeaten start to the season.
Sporting CP 4-1 Kairat Almaty
The Kazakhstani side were the only Champions League debutants to lose on their first appearance this year as Sporting ran out big winners in a professional display. Much like Club Brugge earlier in the night, Sporting were 4-0 and relaxing as they let in a late consolation goal. They will be pleased to come away with an expected victory, especially after the embarrassment suffered by their neighbours Benfica this week. Sporting were able to make substitutions early to rest key players and set themselves up nicely for a push to finish inside the top 8 this year. Kairat Almaty may struggle this year, but their draw has at least ensured they get to tour some of the most famous grounds in Europe and welcome some huge teams to Kazakhstan, and who knows? They might pick up a shock win.
Game of The Round:
Juventus 4-4 Borussia Dortmund
A great selection of games to choose from this week as the new Champions League season opened with a bang. I considered giving Qarabag their flowers, but it really couldn’t have been any other game.
Juventus had the better of a stale first half, forcing a couple of saves out of Gregor Kobel but nothing spectacular. We went into the break at 0-0 and I certainly didn’t think this would be the game I’d choose for this section.
In the second half, the game exploded.
Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring seven minutes after the restart, wiggling into a yard of space on the edge of the box and firing a low shot into the bottom-right corner well beyond the reach of Di Gregorio.
Not to be outdone by his former schoolmate, Juve starlet Kenan Yildiz continued his scintillating start to the season by curling a beautiful shot from the top of the box into the far-side top corner to level things up eleven minutes later. Another spectacular goal for the youngster’s growing catalogue.
Just over a minute later, Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha fancied a go. The German side drove forwards from kick-off, Adeyemi cut the ball back and Nmecha bent a first-time shot into the top-right corner from just outside the box.
A whole two minutes passed before Dusan Vlahovic levelled things up again. Despite an impressive goalscoring record for The Old Lady, the striker has been sidelined by the additions of Jonathan David and Lois Openda. Despite this, he has still made his contribution count with 2 goals from the bench in Serie A already this season. Undeterred by his new backup role, the Serb continues to work hard. Yildiz split the defence with a perfectly-weighted ball and Vlahovic controlled well and finished hard and low past Kobel for 2-2.
Seven minutes without a goal and fans were starting to get restless. Thankfully, Dortmund right-back Yan Couto put an end to the dry spell with a lovely low strike from just inside the box that squeezed inside the near post. He drove into open space over the halfway line all the way to the Juventus area with the ball but was dispossessed by Thuram. Possession was quickly won back and played back to Couto, who pushed it ahead of him into an open gap in the box and fired home. It was a lovely strike but the keeper absolutely has to do better at his near post, and somebody has to close the space to Couto as he was left to roam free in the Juventus box.
The fourth Dortmund goal was controversial, VAR unsurprisingly at the heart of it. Defender Lloyd Kelly got down low to block a shot from Serhou Guirassy and the ball clipped his arm on its way through. Kelly went to ground quickly in order to get himself in the way of the shot, and his arms were pretty tight to his body and cushioning his body from the fall. It was a baffling decision and I really don’t see where else he was supposed to have his arms, nevertheless, penalty given and dispatched calmly by Bensebaini.
4-2 to the away side. 6 minutes added on. All wrapped up?
4 minutes into the stoppage, goalscorer Bensebaini stalled on the ball for too long in Dortmund’s defensive third and couldn’t clear his lines. His clearance hit Kalulu, who quickly whipped a lovely cross to the edge of the six-yard box where Vlahovic was lurking. The striker buried the chance, as he always seems to do, and grabbed the ball from the back of the net for a quick restart. Time was running out, but Dusan Vlahovic didn’t think it was over yet.
In the final minute added on, Juventus broke away quickly up the field. The ball made its way to Vlahovic down the right, who cut inside and floated a lovely cross on his left towards the back post. And who should be arriving? Lloyd Kelly of all people. The Englishman broke free from three covering defenders in yellow and sent his diving header into the bottom corner beyond Kobel, who remained rooted to his spot in disbelief. 4-4. Four. Four.
The introduction of Dusan Vlahovic completely flipped this game on its head, another two goals and an assist from the bench for the big Serb and you’d imagine he’ll have a pretty strong case to be leading the line from the start in their next game. The Italian side will be hopeful of a rare deep venture into the competition, they haven’t even been to the quarter-finals since 2018/19 (or been within 10 points of the Serie A title since 2019/20), but if they are to achieve their dreams they have to tighten up defensively. Some of the marking and closing down on display was atrocious, and although most of the goals were great finishes, Di Gregorio has been suspect in the league and was terrible for Dortmund’s third.
Player of The Round:
Lots of contenders this week, but I’m swaying towards Marcus Rashford for his brace away at Newcastle.
Deemed not good enough for the worst Manchester United side in history, Rashford marked his return to England with a fantastic brace at St. James’ Park. The second goal in particular was a beauty.
The first was a smart header in the centre of the box from a Kounde cross to give his side the lead. The winner then came minutes later as he latched onto a loose ball and fired a wicked shot across Pope and into the back of the net. An astounding performance for Rashford on his comeback tour in front of the onlooking Thomas Tuchel – much to consider for the German.
The Table:
Not worth reading into at this stage! Champions PSG lost 3 times in the groups last year and won the lot.
Frankfurt, Club Brugge, USG & Sporting will be especially pleased to get big wins on the board early doors as goal difference may come into play. The prize money from winning a group stage game will be huge to some of these sides too, particularly Qarabag who will be ecstatic with their victory in Lisbon.
PSG and Inter showed us why they were finalists last year and all the teams you’d expect to do well have done. Expect the fight for those top 8 spots to heat up over the next few weeks as the two game rest is vital for those sides competing on multiple fronts this year. Football is becoming increasingly about the whole squad as opposed to the XI, so who’s strengthened best this summer? Who will be there lifting the trophy in Budapest come May?
There’s plenty of football between now and then. Let’s see.
White Noise 