Key wins for Galatasaray and Man City, while Inter extend winning start

The UEFA Champions League table continued to take shape on Wednesday as Inter maintained their perfect start to the competition with a 2-1 victory over Kairat Almaty. Galatasaray enhanced their hopes of a top 8 finish thanks to a hat-trick from Victor Osimhen against Ajax as he earned the UEFA Player of the Match award for a third game in a row. Manchester City end the matchday in 4th after their 4-1 win against Dortmund. There were also wins for Atalanta, Leverkusen and Newcastle, while Pafos recorded their first Champions League victory against Villarreal.

Matchday 4 treated us to two heavyweight European encounters. At Anfield, six-time winners Liverpool edged out 15-time champions Real Madrid 1-0, thanks to a bullet second half header from Alexis Mac Allister – we hear from the goal-scorer as well Los Blancos midfielder Jude Bellingham. Meanwhile in Paris, the defending champions went down 2-1 to table toppers Bayern, their Colombian winger Luis Diaz the match-winner with both goals before being sent off. Arsenal joined Bayern at the top of the table with four wins out of four, seeing off Slavia Praha 3-0 in the Czech Republic, with a brace from Mikel Merino and a penalty from Bukayo Saka. We hear from the Gunners manager, Mikel Arteta as well as midfielder Christian Norgaard on 15-year-old Max Dowman becoming the competition’s youngest ever player.  Elsewhere, Arsenal’s North London neighbours Tottenham beat visitors Copenhagen 4-0, thanks to a superb solo goal from defender Micky van de Ven – we hear from the Dutchman. Napoli were held 0-0 by Frankfurt and there were 1-1 draws for Juventus and Sporting in Turin and Olympiacos and PSV in Greece. Plus there were crucial wins for Atleti and Monaco against Union SG and Bodø/Glimt respectively.  We review all of Tuesday’s action and look ahead to Wednesday’s Matchday 4 encounters, including a reunion for Manchester City striker Erling Haaland with his former club Borussia Dortmund.

There were statement victories across Europe as Matchday 3 concluded. Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the game at the Bernabeu as the 15-time champions Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0. Madrid midfielder Arda Guler reflects on the match that saw Los Blancos maintain their perfect start to the League Phase. Bayern also have three wins from three after a 4-0 win over Club Brugge. Chelsea and Liverpool both scored five in victories over Ajax and Frankfurt respectively. We hear from Reds striker Hugo Ekitike, who shares what it was like scoring against his former club in Germany. Elsewhere, Victor Osimhen got two goals in a 3-1 win for Galatasaray over Bodo/Glimt – he reflects on his performance on the show. Athletic Club and Sporting also picked up an important three points.

Matchday 3 started in style with a phenomenal 43 goals across the 9 matches. In Germany, defending champions Paris struck seven against Leverkusen, with Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé back amongst the goals. Barca and PSV hit six - the Spaniards seeing off ten-man Olympiacos thanks to a hat-trick from Fermin Lopez, and the Dutch side coming from behind to dispatch Italian champions Napoli in Eindhoven. Arsenal, Dortmund and Inter all scored four to register convincing wins. We hear from the Gunners manager Mikel Arteta and defender Gabriel after they inflicted a rare 4-0 defeat on Diego Simeone’s Atletico side. There were also crucial victories for Newcastle and Manchester City against Benfica and Villarreal respectively. We hear from City defender Rico Lewis after Erling Haaland scored yet again to make it 53 Champions League goals in just 51 matches. We also look ahead to Wednesday’s Matchday 3 encounters, including our featured commentary game between European heavyweights Real Madrid and Juventus.

Matchday 2 of this season’s UEFA Champions League concluded in style! In Spain, Paris left it late to beat Barcelona as Goncalo Ramos secured a 2-1 victory. We hear from the Portuguese match winner. Monaco and Villarreal both scored in the 90th minute to draw their matches against Manchester City and Juventus. Arsenal and Qarabag are on 6 points after two games after wins over Olympiacos and Copenhagen respectively. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta chats through his team's performance. Rasmus Hojlund found the back of the net twice as Napoli beat Sporting 2-1, whilst Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund each scored 4 times on their way to victory. Newcastle Player of the Match Anthony Elanga and Hojlund himself reflect on their side’s wins on the podcast.

There were 33 goals across 9 matches on Tuesday but just 1 separated Galatasaray and Liverpool on Matchday 2. Atleti, Bayern and Real Madrid both secured impressive wins, as did Inter,  Marseille & Atalanta. Chelsea welcomed former manager Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge by beating his Benfica side 1-0, while Bodø Glimt held Tottenham 2-2 in their first Champions League home game. In the podcast, we hear from Atalanta manager Ivan Juric, Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé.

Matchday 1 concluded with a thrilling night of action across Europe! Marcus Rashford shone for Barcelona as his brace secured a 2-1 win over Newcastle. Head Coach Hansi Flick shares his thoughts on the forward’s Player of the Match performance, whilst we also hear from Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland scored his 50th UEFA Champions League goal in a 2-0 victory over Napoli, becoming the fastest player to reach the milestone in the competition’s history. City midfielder Phil Foden and boss Pep Guardiola reflect on the win. Sporting and Club Brugge both scored 4 goals in wins over Kairat Almaty and Monaco respectively, whilst Frankfurt began their league phase campaign with 3 points by beating Galatasaray 5-1.  Elsewhere, Copenhagen and Leverkusen shared the spoils in an entertaining 2-2 draw. Copenhagen’s Player of the Match Jordan Larsson analyses the game at Parken.

Champions Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their title defence in style dispatching Atalanta 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, with goals from Marquinhos, Kvaratskhelia, Mendes and Ramos. At Anfield, Liverpool left it late again to grab all three points, with defender Virgil van Dijk heading in an injury time winner to seal a 3-2 victory over Atleti. While in Munich, Bayern saw off Chelsea 3-1, thanks to another brace from their top scorer Harry Kane. We hear from the UEFA Player of The Match in all three matches, Paris winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Bayern match-winner Harry Kane, as well as Reds defender Andy Robertson. Elsewhere, Inter overcame Ajax 2-0 in Amsterdam, Marcus Thuram with both goals, and we hear from one of the Italian side’s new signings, defender Manuel Akanji. While in the evening’s early kick offs, Bodø/Glimt came back from 2-0 down to earn a hard-fought point at Slavia Praha and Olympiakos were impressively held 0-0 at home by Cypriot Champions League debutants Pafos - we get reaction from their defender and POTM Derrick Luckassen. Plus. we look ahead to the final night of Matchday 1 action, with another six games taking place across Europe on Thursday evening, including our featured commentary match Newcastle v Barcelona and Man City v Napoli with the thoughts of Pep Guardiola.

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.

Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned champions of Europe for the very first time after a historic 5-0 victory over Inter Milan, the biggest ever win in the final of this competition. Two goals from UEFA Player of the Match Désiré Doué, and one each for Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and teenager Senny Mayulu put a seal on a perfect Paris performance in Munich. We look back on an absorbing final, including an exuberant trophy lift and jubilant reaction from Paris midfielder Vitinha and manager Luis Enrique. We also look back on the 2024/25 Champions League season as a whole, a revamped campaign that has truly delivered at every stage.