--- title: "Champions League 2026/2027 kicks off: Real vs Inter, Arda Turan's debut and Shakhtar's first match" description: "The 2026/2027 Champions League kicks off on September 8: the first round features 18 matches over three days. The key duel is Real vs Inter, while Shakhtar under Arda Turan will play its debut match in the tournament." date: 2026-09-08T03:44:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/champions-league-2026-2027-round-1-preview-real-inter-shakhtar tags: [champions-league, real-madrid, inter, shakhtar, ar-turan, jose-mourinho, football] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Champions League 2026/2027 kicks off: Real vs Inter, Arda Turan's debut and Shakhtar's first match ![Shakhtar players in orange and black kits celebrate a goal in their first Champions League 2026/2027 match](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/08/ligha-chempionov-2026-2027-prevyu-pervogo-tura-real-inter-shakter/ligha-chempionov-2026-2027-prevyu-pervogo-tura-real-inter-shakter-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The 2026/2027 Champions League opens its campaign on September 8; the first round features 18 matches over three days. - The central match of the first evening is Real vs Inter; the Madrid side lost Asencio, Militão, Rodrygo and Mendy to injury, and Camavinga, Güler and Silva to suspensions. - Shakhtar, led by Arda Turan who is making his CL debut, will play its first match in the tournament on Thursday, having come to it after a win over Karpaty (2:1). 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. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Supermatch between Real and Inter, Turan's debut and the duel of Mourinho's former teams: preview of Round 1 of the Champions League](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/supermatch-reala-ta-intera-debyut-turana-1788789724.html) - Основной источник: расписание первого тура, составы украинских игроков, история «Реал»–«Интер», травмы и дисквалификации мадридцев, контекст «Шахтера» и Арды Турана. - [Live broadcast of the Real - Inter match in the Champions League](https://vesti.kz/league/pryamaya-translyatsiya-matcha-real-inter-v-lige-chempionov-387643/) - Подтверждает статус матча «Реал» — «Интер» как встречи Лиги чемпионов. - [Real - Inter. Where and when to watch the online LIVE video broadcast of the CL match](https://www.ua-football.com/foreign/champions_league/1788710322-real-inter-gde-i-kogda-smotret-onlayn-live-pryamuyu-videotranslyaciyu-matcha-lch.html) - Подтверждает дату матча «Реал» — «Интер» — 08.09.2026 в рамках Лиги чемпионов. - [Real - Inter. Announcement and prediction of the Champions League match on 08.09.2026](https://www.ua-football.com/predictions/champions-league/1788798239-real-inter-anons-i-prognoz-matcha-ligi-chempionov-na-08-09-2026.html) - Подтверждает дату матча «Реал» — «Интер» — 08.09.2026 в рамках Лиги чемпионов. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: When does the 2026/2027 Champions League start and how many matches are in the first round? **A:** The campaign opens on September 8, 2026. The first round features 18 matches, which will be played over three days. ### Q: What is the main match of the first matchday? **A:** The highlight of the first evening (22:00) will be the Real – Inter match. Both teams will play Shakhtar in this campaign, and the Madrid coach is José Mourinho. ### Q: Who will Real be without ahead of the match against Inter? **A:** Due to injuries, Raúl Asencio, Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferlan Mendy will not play. For disciplinary reasons (red cards in previous CL matches) — Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler and Bernardo Silva. ### Q: When and against whom will Shakhtar play in the Champions League? **A:** Shakhtar will play its first match in the tournament on Thursday. The team will be led in the CL for the first time by Arda Turan, who last season took the "miners" to the Conference League semi-finals.