Champions League Returns As New League Phase Begins

The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League begins this week, with the league phase getting underway on September 8 and some of Europe’s biggest clubs immediately facing major tests. The opening night features several eye-catching fixtures, including Real Madrid against Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu, Manchester City travelling to Porto, and Borussia Dortmund hosting Villarreal. Aston Villa also begin their European campaign away to Club Brugge, while Real Betis travel to Lille. The action continues on September 9 with another heavyweight set of matches. Liverpool host Atlético Madrid at Anfield, Arsenal travel to face Napoli, and Barcelona welcome Feyenoord. Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain also begin their campaign at home against Slovan Bratislava. The first matchweek concludes on September 10, when Manchester United host Sabah, Bayern Munich face Bodø/Glimt, Roma travel to Fenerbahçe and RB Leipzig visit Como. This will be another season under the 36-team league-phase system, replacing the traditional group-stage format. Each club plays eight matches against eight different opponents, with results contributing to one overall league table. The highest-ranked teams advance directly to the knockout rounds, while clubs finishing in the middle positions must go through a playoff round to keep their European campaigns alive. PSG enter the competition as defending champions, while clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich will all be aiming to take the trophy away from Paris. With major fixtures arriving immediately and no traditional easy group phase to settle into, the Champions League season is set to begin at full intensity.