The 2025/26 League Phase started in style on Tuesday evening with opening day victories for Real Madrid, Arsenal and Spurs plus first ever Champions League wins for Qarabag and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on their competition debut.
In Madrid, the 15-time champions began their quest to re-claim the coveted trophy with a hard fought 2-1 win over Marseille - Kylian Mbappe the match-winner with both goals – we hear from the Frenchman. North London rivals Arsenal and Spurs both began their campaigns with victories – the Gunners winning 2-0 in Bilbao and Spurs seeing off Villareal 1-0 at home. We hear from Arsenal’s UEFA POTM Gabriel Martinelli as well as Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven.
Elsewhere Juventus and Borussia Dortmund played out an incredible 4-4 draw in Turin, with all 8 goals coming in the second half, Qarabag came from 2-0 down to earn a stunning 3-2 win against Benfica in Lisbon, but arguably the performance of the night took place in Eindhoven where Champions League debutants Union Saint-Gilloise secured a historic 3-1 win against PSV – we hear from their first ever goal-scorer in the competition, Promise David.
We also look ahead to Wednesday’s Matchday 1 encounters, including our featured commentary game between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, hearing from the Reds’ manager Arne Slot.