The UEFA Champions League returns on Tuesday, September 8, with the opening six matches of Matchday 1 in the 2026/27 league phase. The first round of games will continue through Thursday, September 10, as Europe’s top clubs begin their campaigns after the summer break.
The first night of the new campaign features six matches, but one stands above the rest: Real Madrid welcome Inter to the Santiago Bernabéu in a meeting between two of European football’s biggest names.
Manchester City’s trip to Porto and Borussia Dortmund’s home clash with Villarreal are the other headline fixtures, while Aston Villa’s visit to Club Brugge also offers an intriguing contest between two clubs with strong recent European records.
Real Madrid face Inter in the night’s main attraction
Real Madrid begin their latest European campaign at home, but they do so after a disappointing end to last season’s Champions League run.
Madrid reached the quarter-finals in 2025/26, where they were eliminated by Bayern Munich after a 6-4 aggregate defeat. The Spanish side lost the first leg 3-2 at home before Bayern completed the job with a 4-3 victory in Munich.
Madrid have also suffered an early setback in LaLiga. After winning their first three matches of the season, they lost 1-0 to Real Betis on Friday, with Kylian Mbappé missing a late penalty. The result was their first defeat under Mourinho this season.
José Mourinho’s return to The Meringues adds another layer to Tuesday’s game. The Portuguese coach won the Champions League with Inter in 2010 and now faces his former club in his second spell at Real Madrid.
The hosts will also have to deal with several absences. Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler and Bernardo Silva are suspended, while Raúl Asencio, Éder Militão, Thiago Pitarch and Rodrygo are out. Aurélien Tchouaméni remains doubtful despite returning to group training, while Endrick has also returned to training after a long absence and could make his comeback against Inter.
Moroccan international Brahim Díaz is expected to start against Inter, according to projected lineups, giving him a chance to feature in Real Madrid’s opening Champions League match of the season.
Inter, on the other hand, arrive in Madrid after what could also be considered a disappointing 2025/26 campaign. The Italian side had reached the Champions League final in 2024/25, but their European run last season ended in the knockout-phase play-offs, where Bodø/Glimt eliminated them 5-2 on aggregate.
Their domestic start, however, has been perfect. Inter have won their opening three Serie A matches, including a 3-2 comeback against Napoli on Saturday, September 5. They now face one of the most difficult possible starts to their European campaign at the Bernabéu.
Inter also have a familiar face on the opposing bench. Cristian Chivu, who played under Mourinho at Inter, is now the Italian club’s coach.
Manchester City begin European campaign at Porto
Manchester City face Porto in another of the night’s biggest fixtures.
City’s Champions League campaign ended in the round of 16 last season after Real Madrid won 5-1 on aggregate. They now begin their first European campaign under Enzo Maresca, with Moroccan international Ayyoub Bouaddi among the players expected to feature in Porto.
The 18-year-old midfielder joined City from Lille on August 26 and has already made two Premier League appearances, playing 22 minutes in total. Maresca has indicated that Bouaddi, along with Ryan McAidoo and Iliman Ndiaye, should get some playing time against Porto.
The English side have won their first three Premier League matches this season. Porto have also started strongly in Portugal, making Tuesday’s meeting a clash between two teams yet to lose domestically.
The match will be played at the Estádio do Dragão, where Porto will have home advantage.
Dortmund meet Villarreal again
Borussia Dortmund welcome Villarreal in a repeat of last season’s Champions League league-phase meeting, which Dortmund won 4-0 at home.
Dortmund finished 17th in last season’s league phase before being eliminated by Atalanta in the knockout phase play-offs. Villarreal had a tougher campaign, finishing 35th after taking just one point from eight matches.
Dortmund have won their first two Bundesliga matches this season, while Villarreal have lost their latest two games.
Lille and Betis arrive with confidence
Lille welcome Real Betis to France with both sides looking to carry positive domestic form into their Champions League opener.
Lille are unbeaten in Ligue 1 after three matches and come into the game on the back of a 1-0 win away to Toulouse. They will now look to continue that momentum on their return to Europe’s top competition, with home advantage at the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Betis also arrive in good form after beating Real Madrid 1-0 in their latest LaLiga match. Moroccan international Abde Ezzalzouli, however, will miss the game as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
Two other matches complete Tuesday’s program
Club Brugge host Aston Villa at the Jan Breydel Stadium, with the two clubs having already met three times in the Champions League in recent seasons.
AEK Athens face LASK in the day’s opening match, with AEK returning to the Champions League after seven years absence.
Tuesday’s Champions League schedule (Moroccan time)
17:45 Matches
- AEK Athens vs LASK (OPAP Arena, Athens)
- Club Brugge vs Aston Villa (Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges)
20:00 Matches
- Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal (Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund)
- Porto vs Manchester City (Estádio do Dragão, Porto)
- Lille vs Real Betis (Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille)
- Real Madrid vs Inter (Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid)
