The 2026/2027 Champions League opens a new campaign: already today, on September 8, European fans will get their first hit of dopamine. The first round features 18 matches, which will be played over three days. The first matchday kicks off with six games: two of them are scheduled for 19:45 Kyiv time, while the remaining four are set for 22:00.
First matchday: Athens, Bruges and the central Real – Inter clash
The evening opens in Athens, where local AEK, featuring Ukrainian Oleksandr Zubkov, will host Austria's LASK. In parallel, Bruges will take on Aston Villa. At 22:00, fans are in for a packed block: Manchester City, who strengthened significantly during the summer transfer window, travel to Port; Borussia Dortmund will play a "yellow" derby against Spain's Villarreal; and Lille will host Betis at home. The highlight of the first evening will be the Real – Inter match.
Real – Inter: a poster match of final caliber
Both teams will also face Donetsk's Shakhtar in the current campaign, and the Madrid coach, José Mourinho, is a figure with special connotations for Inter fans: it was under his management that the "Nerazzurri" last won the Champions League, in 2010. Real and Inter last met in 2021, when both were opponents of Shakhtar: in both matches the Madrid side won — 2:0 in Madrid and 1:0 in Milan. At the official level, the Italians have not beaten Real since 1998, when they won 3:1 at home in the group stage.
Real's squad losses ahead of the match
The Madrid club approaches the game against Inter on the back of serious losses. Due to injuries, the match will be missed by Raúl Asencio, Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferlan Mendy. For disciplinary reasons — red cards received in previous Champions League matches — Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler and Bernardo Silva will not play.
Wednesday and Thursday: Barcelona, Liverpool and the Ukrainian angle
On September 9, two more matches will be played at 19:45 and four at 22:00. In the first slot comes Barcelona's first match of this campaign, which is expected to draw the largest audience. At 22:00, Liverpool will host Diego Simeone's Atlético (last season the home side won 3:2), Napoli will play Arsenal, PSG will host Slovan, and Sporting will take on Galatasaray. The PSG – Slovan match has a Ukrainian angle: Ilya Zabarny plays for the Parisians, while Daniil Ignatenko and Nikolai Kucharevich play for the Bratislava side. On Thursday, Shakhtar will play its first Champions League match, and two former Mourinho teams — Fenerbahçe and Roma — will also meet.
Shakhtar and Arda Turan's coaching debut in the CL
Arda Turan will make his debut as a coach in the Champions League. Last season, the Turkish specialist took Shakhtar to the Conference League semi-finals — a result that is considered very good under wartime conditions. Ahead of his CL debut, the "miners" come on the back of a win in a tough league match against Lviv's Karpaty (2:1). Shakhtar was relatively lucky with its first opponent in the Champions League, the preview authors note.
