Manchester City deliver statement, Arsenal stay perfect and Ajax keep knockout hopes alive

Matchday 6 concluded with compelling matches across Europe. Manchester City and Real Madrid played out another classic encounter, with the visitors edging it thanks Erling Haaland’s first half penalty. They’re now assured of a place in either the knockout phase play-offs or round of 16, something also secured by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night following their goalless draw with Athletic Club. Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle were also held, while Juventus, Benfica, Copenhagen and Ajax picked up eye-catching wins on the final night of UEFA Champions League action in 2025. Arsenal end the year in top-spot thanks to their 3-0 victory over Brugge, as they maintain their perfect record in the league phase.

Many of Europe’s biggest clubs made their move as Matchday 6 got underway. There were no draws in any of Tuesday’s nine games with wins for Bayern, Barcelona, Liverpool, Atletico, Tottenham, Marseille, Olympiacos, Atalanta and Monaco – leaving the League Phase table fascinatingly poised.  In our featured commentary in Milan, Liverpool struck late to sink Inter, thanks to a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty. Elsewhere in Italy, Atalanta came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 and move up to third in the table, their in-form midfielder Charles De Ketelaere once again the match-winner. And in Germany, Bayern booked their passage through to the knockout phase with a 3-1 win over Sporting, inspired once again by 17-year-old sensation Lennart Karl – we hear from their goalscoring defender Jonathan Tah.  There were dramatic 3-2 away wins for Atleti and Marseille at PSV and Union SG respectively – we get reaction from Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi. Marcus Rashford shares his thoughts after Barcelona recovered from an early set back to see off Frankfurt 2-1 at Camp Nou. Xavi Simons talks about his first Champions League goal for Spurs as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at home to Slavia Praha. And there were crucial 1-0 wins for Olympiacos at Kairat Almaty and Monaco at home to Galatasaray. We’ll unpack all of Tuesday’s action and look ahead to 9 more huge matches on Wednesday, including the small matter of Real Madrid v Manchester City in the Spanish capital.

The goals continued to flow on Matchday 5 with an incredible 42 goals across Wednesday’s 9 matches. The top two met in North London with the home side coming out on top in a pulsating encounter. Julien Timber opened the scoring for the Gunners before Bayern’s 17-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl equalised. However, second half goals from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli secured a statement 3-1 win for Arsenal to put them top of the League Phase table and the only side with a 100% record. Elsewhere there were staggering scorelines across Europe: defending champions Paris beat Spurs 5-3 at the Parc des Princes; PSV fired four past Liverpool at Anfield; Mbappe scored all four of Real Madrid’s goals as they won 4-3 at Olympiacos; Atalanta and Sporting both registered comfortable 3-0 wins against Frankfurt and Club Brugge respectively; Atleti left it late to beat Inter in Madrid; and in the early kick offs Copenhagen edged past Kairat 3-2 and Cypriot side Pafos earned another point, drawing 2-2 with Monaco to move into the much coveted 24th place in the League Phase table. We’ll review all of Wednesday’s action and get reaction from Arsenal’s Declan Rice & Noni Madueke, PSV’s Ivan Perišić, Sporting’s Francisco Trincao and Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere.

There was drama across Europe as Matchday 5 started with a bang in the Champions League. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea turned on the style to overcome 10-man Barcelona 3-0, thanks to a superb performance from teenage sensation Estêvão. In Norway, Juve edged a five-goal thriller thanks to an injury time winner from Jonathan David – we hear from their Player of the Match, Kenan Yildaz. However, the shock of the night came in Manchester as Leverkusen beat the 2023 champions 2-0, and we hear from the scorer of their superb opener Alejandro Grimaldo.  Benfica registered their first win of the League Phase, seeing off Ajax 2-0 in Amsterdam, and we get reaction from their manager Jose Mourinho as well as Swedish defender Samuel Dahl. And Napoli secured a crucial home win against Qarabag, inspired once again by their Scottish goalscoring midfielder Scott McTominay. Elsewhere there were win crucial wins for Dortmund, Marseille and Union SG and Slavia Praha and Athletic Club played out a 0-0 draw. We’ll review all of Tuesday’s action as well as look ahead to a huge Wednesday in Europe’s top club competition, with the top two coming head-to-head in north London as Arsenal host Bayern.

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.