Ismail Kartal resigned as head coach of Fenerbahce just minutes after the Turkish side’s 1-1 draw with Roma in the Champions League.
Kartal made the surprise announcement in his post-match news conference, stating he plans to never return to the club he previously served as a player and assistant coach.
He came back to Fenerbahce for a fourth spell as manager in June 2026, with the club returning to the Champions League for the first time in 18 years.
Now he departs with the team sitting ninth in the Turkish Super Lig after two wins and two defeats, and after only one Champions League match.
“I have been here three months. From the beginning of the season until today, the training sessions and camps we held with the players, and the efforts of our president, have been very helpful. Those were wonderful days,” Kartal said.
“As of this evening, I congratulate my players and resign from my position.
“I made this decision to pave the way for my club. We made this decision together as a team.
“From now on, to help Fenerbahce, my players and future coaches, I have resigned from my position, with the intention of never returning.”
Club president Aziz Yildirim has not accepted 65-year-old Kartal’s resignation.
Defending champions the Seattle Seahawks came from behind to beat the New England Patriots 13-10 in the opening game of the NFL season.
For the first time in 10 years the season began with a rematch of the Super Bowl, in which the Patriots were dominated by a Seahawks defence known as ‘the Dark Side’.
Again they stepped up after Seattle lost quarterback Sam Darnold to a hip injury in the game’s opening drive, claiming three interceptions in the final quarter at Lumen Field.
The Patriots went into a 10-0 lead, with rookie tight end Eli Raridon scoring the first touchdown of the season in the second quarter.
Back-up quarterback Drew Lock got the Seattle offence going late in the third quarter, with Jason Myers cutting the gap with a field goal.
Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett claimed his first career interception at the start of the fourth quarter, after a Drake Maye pass was deflected by rookie Rodney Thomas.
On the next possession Lock found wide reciever Jaxon Smith-Njigba in space and last season’s offensive player of the year charged through the Patriots defence for a 45-yard touchdown.
Julian Love then picked off Patriots quarterback Maye, giving Myers the chance to edge the Seahawks in front with a 26-yard field goal.
New England were well within field-goal range with 21 seconds remaining, but chose to go for the win rather than settle for overtime, and the move backfired as Maye’s hopeful pass towards Mack Hollins was intercepted by Josh Jobe in the end zone.
The only game in which Maye threw multiple interceptions last season was the Super Bowl, and he was picked off on the Patriots’ final three possessions in the season opener.
Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said initial tests showed Darnold had not fractured a hip.
Week one continues with the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia. The Los Angeles Rams meet the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne on Thursday (01:35 BST, Friday).
PARIS, France: Holders Paris Saint-Germain made a smooth start to their bid for a third consecutive Champions League title as Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday, while Liverpool came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona kicked off their campaign by scoring five goals against Feyenoord, while Arsenal impressed with a 1-0 win at Napoli.
PSG, who are hoping to become only the fourth club to win three European Cups in a row, visit Manchester City and host Barca in their next two European games.
“It is the Champions League, we always play against tough teams, but we have to be focused first in Ligue 1 because we didn’t start in the right way,” said Torres, with PSG yet to win a domestic game this season.
But they wasted little time in picking apart Yaya Toure’s Slovan at the Parc des Princes.
Ousmane Dembele hammered in a rebound and then nodded in a deflected cross to put Luis Enrique’s men two goals ahead inside 22 minutes.
Torres tapped home Dembele’s cross just after the half-hour mark and drilled in his second less than two minutes after the restart.
Spain’s World Cup final hero completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute, shanking a shot with his knee that spun into the bottom corner.
Suleiman Camara crashed in a consolation for Slovan, but Fabian Ruiz had the final say for PSG when he pounced on a mishit clearance.
Liverpool made it successive victories after winning at Ipswich in the Premier League last week by beating Atletico 2-1 at Anfield.
Atletico grabbed a 17th-minute lead as Julian Alvarez, starting for the first time this season after failing to force a move away from the club, played in Marcos Llorente to dink the ball over Alisson in the Liverpool goal.
Llorente has now scored five times in three visits to Anfield, after netting a double at Liverpool last season and in Atletico’s dramatic last-16 victory in 2020.
Liverpool hit back five minutes before the break through Dominik Szoboszlai, courtesy of a clever backheeled pass from Ronald Araujo.
Alexis Mac Allister then hammered the hosts in front five minutes into the second half with a left-footed strike from outside the box, and Atletico could not find a response.
“I’ve loved it. The atmosphere has been incredible and I feel lucky, lucky to experience it,” said Liverpool’s new manager Andoni Iraola after his Champions League coaching debut.
Odegaard sinks Napoli
Arsenal missed several first-half chances at the Stadio Armando Diego Maradona, with Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret making an excellent save to keep out Mikel Merino’s header.
Piero Hincapie fired over a golden chance from just three yards out as the English champions continued to push after half-time, but last season’s runners-up finally forged ahead with 15 minutes left.
Martin Odegaard, who scored the winner against Chelsea at the weekend, played a clever one-two with Christos Tzolis on the edge of the area and crashed a shot in off the far post.
Barcelona made an excellent start to their latest bid to end a 12-year wait to lift the trophy, as Raphinha continued his superb form by scoring twice in a 5-1 thumping of Feyenoord.
Hansi Flick’s men, who lost to Atletico in the quarter-finals last season, have won all five of their matches in all competitions so far this season, scoring five goals in four of them.
“We controlled the game, we are dominant and this is fantastic to see. This is our style and how we want to play,” said Flick.
Raphinha put Barca into a third-minute lead before a brilliant long-range strike from summer signing Karim Adeyemi.
Brazilian Raphinha, playing up front this season after the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Torres, made it eight goals already for the campaign in the second half.
Lamine Yamal netted a free-kick which crept through the wall, and although Sem Steijn pulled one back for Feyenoord, Gabriel Jesus came off the bench and then headed in his first Barca goal.
Ermedin Demirovic scored a first-half hat-trick as Stuttgart eased to a 3-1 home win over Norwegian champions Viking, playing in the competition for the first time in 34 years.
Sporting, quarter-finalists last season for the first time since 1983, fought back to see off Galatasaray 3-1 in Lisbon.
Greek teenage star Konstantinos Karetsas faced ‘circulatory problems’ and was stretchered off against Villarreal.
Published On 9 Sep 20269 Sep 2026
Borussia Dortmund teenage star Konstantinos Karetsas was being treated at the hospital after slumping to the turf 25 minutes into his Champions League debut, the German club said.
“Konstantinos Karetsas had to leave the field due to circulatory problems,” Dortmund said in a statement late on Tuesday. “Kosta is doing well under the circumstances and is on his way to the hospital for further tests.”
Facing Villarreal, the 18-year-old Greek prospect passed the ball to a teammate, then signalled his distress to the referee before sitting on the grass.
Karetsas was treated lying down and then taken away on a stretcher. The score was 0-0 at the time in what became a 3-2 win for Dortmund.
“I hope and I think that everything is OK, and I hope that he’s back and fit with us soon,” Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel told a broadcaster.
Konstantinos Karetsas receives medical attention before being put on a stretcher [Leon Kuegeler/Reuters]
Karetsas and his Greek teammate Giannis Konstantelias were marquee signings for Dortmund in the off-season. Former Belgium youth international Karetsas joined for $34.9m from Genk and Konstantelias for $30.2m from PAOK.
Karetsas was reportedly a target for many clubs after impressing at Genk last season. He set up 11 goals in 28 Jupiler Pro League appearances. He signed a five-year contract through June 2031.
“With his creativity and game intelligence, Kos will enrich our team,” Dortmund sporting director Ole Book said. “He is technically very skilled and has the ability to find quick solutions in tight spaces, especially in the final third.”
Karetsas played for Belgium’s youth teams before opting to represent his parents’ country and making his debut for Greece in March 2025. He has scored three goals in 10 international appearances.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Konstantelias’ season was likely ended last month by an ACL injury on his Bundesliga debut.
The visitors were in a commanding and deserved position at half-time, McGinn’s opener making him the club’s all-time record European goalscorer with 12.
Buendia’s strike and Jackson’s first Villa goal – benefiting from Yann Sommer’s rush of blood – had them cruising.
Brugge were poor and George Hemmings, Villa’s first Champions League/European Cup teenage starter in 43 years, could have had at least one.
Yet the hosts made it uncomfortable for Emery’s men with Nicolo Tresoldi’s penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s blatant handball setting up an anxious last half an hour, during which Tresoldi hit the post.
It can be viewed as a blessing in disguise that Villa had to battle their way through and ride out the hosts’ pressure to earn their first win of the season. Adding the grit and determination to the quality of the opening half to prove they can get the job done.
Not that they needed the evidence themselves, Emery and his squad always have that faith and the internal desire to progress no matter the obstacle.
It was the same last season. A below-par 1-0 win over limited Bologna – thanks to another McGinn goal – got Villa going and they hardly looked back.
The victory kicked off the staggering run of 17 wins in 20 games which formed the backbone of returning to the Champions League and giving Villa momentum to win the Europa League.
Since then, of course, Villa’s spine has been torn out and Emery has to integrate 10 new players into his methodical methods.
Three points in Brugge may not spark another relentless run but it gives Emery and Villa the foundations of this new era.
“It’s a new Villa and it was a big test for the new players to dig in,” McGinn told Uefa.
“It was Joao Gomes and George Hemmings’ first Champions League game. It’s not easy to go away at a place like this in difficult weather conditions. Club Brugge were pushing and pushing and pushing and we had to stand strong. We managed to do that.
“It was so important to show a real gritty performance and get a victory at a very, very tough place to play.”
Who: Real Madrid vs Inter Milan What: Champions League league phase Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain When: Tuesday, September 8, at 9pm (19:00 GMT) How to follow:Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up from 16:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream
When Jose Mourinho left Inter Milan for Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, after leading the Italian outfit to Champions League glory, he was at the peak of his powers.
The Portuguese coach claimed an historic treble with Inter, clinching Serie A in the last week of the season and lifting the Coppa Italia.
Inter beat Bayern 2-0 in the Champions League final at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, winning the trophy for the first time since 1965 and becoming the first Italian team to win the treble.
The day after the final Mourinho said it was likely his last match in charge and about a week later his appointment at Real Madrid was finalised.
Now 16 years on, and beginning his second stint at Madrid, Mourinho kicks off the record 15-time Champions League winners’ European campaign against Serie A champions Inter on Tuesday at the Bernabeu.
Mourinho denies feeling pressure to lift Champions League
The Champions League is the only trophy that evaded Mourinho during his first stint at Real Madrid.
“No, it is two different spells,” he said when asked at a pre-match news conference if he was in debt to the club. “When I left in 2013, we won what we won and lost what we lost and we gave it our all. And that was that. What I need to do now has nothing to do with the past.”
“Back in 2010, we weren’t even reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League and it had been ages since we’d played in a semifinal. Now we’ve won six Champions Leagues in a little over a decade.”
All eyes will be on how Real respond to their first setback of Mourinho’s second spell – a 1-0 defeat by Real Betis in La Liga on Friday.
“We want to win every match, every competition,” he said. But you have to work to accomplish stability. Stability. Stability … Structure …
“So Real Madrid need to reach that stability that is so important to achieve something great. But Real Madrid are Real Madrid, you need to win here no matter what.”
‘We all need to improve’
Sitting alongside Mourinho, star striker Kylian Mbappe was asked several times about his relationship with Vinicius Jr and the atmosphere in the Real dressing room.
“What does an improvement in the dressing room mean?” Mbappe said when asked if there had been a change from last year.
“Do you have the feeling that something wasn’t right last year? No, it’s the same as last year. It’s true we have a different coach, but it’s the same.”
Mbappe acknowledged his side have to improve in front of goal.
“I could say that I score more goals than some PSG players so they need to score more, but I have to be smart and acknowledge that I need to improve too, even if I do certain things that others don’t,” he said.
“It’s an endless debate. We all need to improve [in front of goal], and also with the ball.”
Mbappe after his penalty is saved by Betis keeper Alvaro Valles on Friday [Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters]
What happened in Madrid’s last match?
Mbappe missed a late penalty as Troy Parrott scored his first goal for Real Betis in their 1-0 win on Friday, ending Mourinho’s perfect start to the La Liga season.
Madrid had won each of their first three matches under Mourinho in his second spell in charge, but Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles denied Mbappe from the spot deep into stoppage time to seal a memorable victory at La Cartuja.
Vinicius Junior hit the post in the first half from Arda Guler’s pass across the face of goal, with Mbappe foiled twice by heroic blocks from Natan Bernardo de Souza and Marc Bartra.
As Madrid struggled to break Betis down, the hosts took a surprise lead nine minutes from time when Parrott fired home the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had produced a fine save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header.
What happened in Inter’s last match?
A last-gasp winner from Lautaro Martinez sealed a breathless win for Inter as the Serie A champions fought back from two goals down to edge visiting Napoli 3-2 on Saturday.
The game exploded in the second half when Matteo Politano guided home a shot in the 50th minute before Rasmus Hojlund’s curler doubled the Napoli lead three minutes later.
Inter responded almost immediately when Martinez hammered in his first goal of the season from a Dimarco cross. Substitute Marcus Thuram came agonisingly close to a leveller when he headed off the post.
The France international would not be denied twice, though, and smashed a towering header past Alex Meret in the 82nd minute to level the scores.
Chances fell at both ends before Martinez’s penalty box instincts proved decisive in the 91st minute as Napoli failed to clear in a goalmouth scramble and the Argentina striker pounced to settle an extraordinary match.
Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez scoring his team’s winner against Napoli on Saturday [Isabella Bonotto/AFP]
Prediction
The Opta supercomputer makes Real Madrid the favourites, with a win probability of 56 percent. Inter given a 22.3 percent chance of winning.
Head-to-head
They have faced each other on 19 occasions; Madrid won 10 games, Inter won seven, and two ended as draws.
Somewhat surprisingly, Inter have not beaten Real Madrid since 1998, a game in which the great Roberto Baggio scored a brace for the Italians.
Last five encounters:
December 07, 2021: Real Madrid 2-0 Inter Milan (Champions League)
September 15, 2021: Inter Milan 0-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)
November 25, 2020: Inter Milan 0-2 Real Madrid (Champions League)
November 03, 2020: Real Madrid 3-2 Inter Milan (Champions League)
November 25, 1998: Inter Milan 3-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)
Real Madrid’s team news
Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva will all miss the game due to suspensions carried over from last season.
Madrid also have a host of injuries to contend with as Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raul Asencio are all ruled out.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Thiago Pitarch, Endrick and Marc Cucurella face late fitness tests as they struggle to recover from injuries, but all are reportedly back in training.
Left-back Federico Dimarco is unavailable due to a knee injury, while new signing Djed Spence is still working his way back to full fitness after an undisclosed injury and is unlikely to feature.
Last season’s runners-up, Arsenal, will play the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lille in the league phase.
Published On 27 Aug 202627 Aug 2026
Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were handed meetings with Barcelona, Manchester City and Aston Villa, among their eight matches in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, when the draw took place on Thursday.
PSG, who beat Arsenal on penalties in Budapest in May to retain the trophy, will play Barcelona, Roma, Turkish champions Galatasaray and Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia at home.
Luis Enrique’s team will travel to England twice to face City and Villa. They beat both teams on the way to winning their first Champions League title in 2025, and also defeated the latter in the UEFA Super Cup in Austria earlier this month.
The French champions will also go to Spain to play Villarreal and Italy to take on a Como side coached by Cesc Fabregas.
“I can’t say anything bad about the Champions League, but I won’t be watching the draw. I will be relaxing and going out on my bike, then we’ll take a look at the menu. But I would sign up for the same result as in the last two years,” Luis Enrique told reporters earlier Thursday.
PSG are aiming to become European champions for a third straight year, something only the Real Madrid of 2016 to 2018 have achieved in the last 50 years.
The first matches in this season’s league phase will be played between Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10, with the final games in late January. UEFA is expected to announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday.
Last season’s runners-up, Arsenal, the Premier League champions, will notably host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lille, as well as Sabah, the club from Azerbaijan who came through four two-legged qualifying ties to reach the league phase for the first time.
The Gunners have a tough list of away ties against Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.
Fenerbahce back, Viking in
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool will be at home to Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, while playing Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Austrian league phase debutants LASK away.
Manchester United, who were not in the first pot of seeds, have home games against Bayern, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah, and also a series of difficult away fixtures against Atletico, Sporting of Portugal, Villarreal and Como.
Other notable games include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid entertaining Inter, while last season’s Europa League winners, Villa, must go to Barcelona and play Dortmund at home. Unai Emery’s team will also tackle Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
The latter are appearing in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2008/09 after beating Lyon in the playoffs this week.
New names in this season’s competition are Como, who have upset the traditional order in Serie A, and Sabah, while LASK made it to this stage for the first time after a stunning comeback win over Celtic in the playoffs.
Last year’s Norwegian champions Viking, from the city of Stavanger, have reached the Champions League proper for the first time, too, and they have a glamorous fixture schedule that includes Bayern, Atletico, Villa and Napoli.
This is the third season since the introduction of the new format for the Champions League, with 36 teams now all pooled together in one giant league and each playing games against eight different opponents.
This season’s final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.
European champions Paris St-Germain will face Premier League duo Manchester City and Aston Villa as well as five-time winners Barcelona in the league phase of this season’s Champions League.
The back-to-back Champions League winners will welcome Barca to Parc des Princes, while they were also handed trips to Villa Park and Manchester in the draw for the league phase.
Premier League champions Arsenal, meanwhile, will host 15-time winners Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium, and have also been handed a trip to Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta’s men, who were beaten by PSG on penalties in the final last season, will face Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague as well.
Enzo Maresca’s City will welcome PSG to Etihad Stadium and travel to Barcelona, where they will have a reunion with Spanish World Cup-winner Rodri, who moved to the Nou Camp in a £65m deal this summer.
City will also be up against another of their former midfielders in Kevin de Bruyne when Napoli visit Manchester, with Sporting, Porto, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens their other opponents.
Europa League winners Villa, returning to the competition after a season away, will host PSG and Dortmund and travel to Barcelona and Galatasaray.
Unai Emery’s side also face Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Viking and Slavia Prague.
Manchester United, returning after a two-year hiatus, will meet Bayern, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Sporting, Leipzig, Villarreal, Sabah and Como.
Liverpool, meanwhile, host Atletico, Porto, Villarreal and Lens while visiting Inter Milan, Brugge, Fenerbahce and LASK.
The first league-phase matches will be played on Tuesday, 8 September and the last round of games will take place on 27 January 2027, with the exact schedule to be released on Saturday.
This season’s final will be held in Madrid on 5 June.
NFL owners have approved the $9.612bn record sale of the reigning Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks to a group led by billionaire Vinod Khosla.
The deal, which required the support of at least 24 of 32 owners, is currently the second highest amount paid for a franchise in North American sports history.
The estate of Paul G. Allen, which inherited the NFL team after the death of the Microsoft co-founder in 2018, agreed to terms with the Khosla family on 11 July after a search for a new owner.
And now approved, the sale surpasses the $6.05bn the Washington Commanders fetched when they were sold in 2023, although the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were subsequently sold for $10bn in 2025 and are currently in the process of changing ownership again for a reported $12.5bn.
“We are honoured to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks. How often do you get to buy a franchise that just won the Super Bowl?” said Khosla.
“We are incredibly lucky and humbled by this gift, I would say, from the Allen trust.”
“We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organisation and fans everywhere.”
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Khosla, who will have to relinquish a minority stake in the San Francisco 49ers as part of his agreement to buy the Seahawks, added: “The task ahead is actually pretty simple – keep the winning streak alive, get another Super Bowl.
“Our approach is generally going to be long-term focused, that’s our inclination always. So, keep winning, take a long-term approach, and learn a lot. We don’t know enough, and the other owners have been incredibly welcoming and willing to teach us, so we’ll learn a lot.
“We’ll learn from management and see what they are recommending.”
Khosla, 71, was the co-founder of US technology company Sun Microsystems and the founder of the venture capital firm Khosla Ventures and has a net worth of $13.2bn, according to Forbes. , external
Former owner Allen saved the Seahawks from relocating to Southern California when he bought the team from Ken Behring in 1997.
His sister, Jody Allen, took control of the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers as chair of both teams upon her brother’s death with a directive to eventually sell both and donate the proceeds to charity.
In the 29 seasons in which Paul or Jody Allen were in charge, the Seahawks made the play-offs 17 times and won two of the four Super Bowls they contested.
Azerbaijan side Sabah fight back from 4-2 down on aggregate to beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel 6-4 on aggregate to secure their place in the main draw of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Football’s biggest club competition returns for the 2026-2027 season as the UEFA Champions League gets under way next month, with the draw for the main round taking place on Thursday.
Back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain are chasing a historic third consecutive title, while European giants Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool and Bayern Munich will look to dethrone the two-time champions.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The league phase format, now in its third year, will begin in September and run until January. It will be followed by the knockout rounds, with the champions crowned in early June.
Here’s all you need to know about this year’s draw:
Paris St Germain’s Achraf Hakimi lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning the UEFA Champions League on May 30, 2026 [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]
When and where is the Champions League draw?
The main round fixtures will be drawn on August 27 at 6pm (17:00 GMT) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
How does Champions League qualifying work?
Of the 36 competing teams, 29 qualified with their rankings in their respective national leagues. The remaining seven spots were up for grabs in a qualifying competition that began earlier this month and will conclude less than 24 hours before the draw.
Bodo/Glimt, LASK and Sabah became the latest teams to book their place in the elite competition, leaving eight teams to battle it out for the last four places on Wednesday.
Which teams have qualified for the Champions League?
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Atletico Madrid
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Bodo/Glimt
Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge
Como
Feyenoord
Galatasaray
Inter Milan
LASK
RB Leipzig
Liverpool
LOSC Lille
Manchester City
Manchester United
Napoli
Paris Saint-Germain
PSV Eindhoven
RC Lens
Real Betis
Real Madrid
AS Roma
FC Porto
Sabah FK
Shakhtar Donetsk
Slavia Prague
Sporting CP
VfB Stuttgart
Villarreal
What are the pots for this season?
Under the new format, each team will play fixtures against eight teams – two teams each from Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Four of the eight matches will be at home, and the other four away.
Pot 1: PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid
Pot 2: Aston Villa, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Porto Club, Brugge PSV, Eindhoven, Real Betis
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Bodo/Glimt, (winner of League Path)
Pot 4: Slavia Prague, VFB Stuttgart, LASK, Como, Lens, Sabah, (3 winners of Champions Path)
When are league phase and knockout matches?
The league phase matches are scheduled for:
Matchday 1: September 8-10
Matchday 2: October 13 and 14
Matchday 3: October 20 and 21
Matchday 4: November 3 and 4
Matchday 5: November 24 and 25
Matchday 6: December 8 and 9
Matchday 7: January 19 and 20
Matchday 8: January 27
The knockout phase matches are scheduled for:
Playoffs: February 16, 17 and 23, 24 Round of 16: March 9, 10 and 16, 17 Quarterfinals: April 6, 7 and 13, 14 Semifinals: April 27, 28 and May 4, 5 Final: June 5
When and where is the Champions League final?
The upcoming season’s final will be held at the Estadio Metropolitano, home of Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
How did PSG win last season’s Champions League?
The French side held their nerve in a cagey final to retain the title by beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as the nail-biting showdown ended 1-1 after extra time.
Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonov’s crossbar at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.
Earlier in August, PSG won the UEFA Super Cup for a second straight year by beating Aston Villa 2-1, thanks to Desire Doue’s second-half goal in the annual curtain-raiser to the European football season.
Doue’s 61st-minute strike after running onto Ousmane Dembele’s pass was initially ruled out for offside, only for the goal to be awarded following a video review, with Matty Cash adjudged to have marginally played him onside.
Four people have been arrested in South Africa in connection with the murder of boxing champion Zolani Tete, who was shot dead outside his home on Friday.
Tete, 38, was gunned down in what has been described as an ambush in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. A young woman who was with him was also shot and is in hospital.
One of the men being held, a 22-year-old who was arrested on Saturday, will make an initial appearance in court on Monday, and faces murder and attempted murder charges.
Tete held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019, as well as the IBF super-flyweight title in 2014. He was later given a four-year ban, which lapsed in July this year.
The remaining suspects, who were arrested on Sunday, are due in court on Tuesday. Two have been charged with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. It is unclear whether they will also be charged with murder and attempted murder.
Tete was in his car waiting for the gate to his house to open when two armed suspects in balaclavas emerged from a vehicle and fired “multiple shots” at him and a 27‑year‑old female passenger, according to officials.
The motive behind the attack is unclear.
Tributes have been pouring in for the two-time world champion since his death. South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said: “South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced.”
Former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula also paid tribute to Tete, lamenting the loss of a “a great South African who has made an immense contribution in the sport of boxing”.
Tete beat Liverpool’s Paul Butler in 2015 in one of the eight times he fought in the United Kingdom.
He also holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a title fight, ending his match with Siboniso Gonya inside 11 seconds in 2017.
Tete last fought in July 2022, beating Briton Jason Cunningham by knockout In London, but it was later ruled a no-contest after he failed a drugs test.
He tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol and was given a ban by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.
After his death, manager Mla Tengimfene confirmed he had been training for a comeback fight after his ban ended.
Tete had 29 wins in 34 fights, with four losses and one no-contest.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
According to the latest crime statistics, covering the period between January and March this year, around 58 people were killed each day.
Last season’s Champions League fairytale side Bodo/Glimt look set to qualify for this year’s edition of the competition after winning 3-1 away at NEC Nijmegen of the Netherlands.
The Swede set Celtic on their way and Duran’s double did the rest, a gorgeous volley – on the back of hustling and harassing of the LASK defence – and then that sumptuous team goal that rounded it off.
O’Neill said the club has a bargain in Duran and the early signs are that he was an absolute steal at somewhere between £4.5m and £6m, depending on who’s talking.
The Colombian has intelligence and guile but he’s also got the work-ethic that means every bit as much as his other qualities.
In the 72nd minute, Celtic were 3-0 ahead, and yet there the 24-year-old was darting back into defence to help out, tracking LASK men until they were hounded out of possession.
As much as his goals, his lung-busting effort to put in a shift made him a hero of the night for Celtic people. Honesty counts for a lot.
It’s easy to say that Celtic learned their lesson from a year ago and splashed the cash. They spent close to £30m and now they’re getting their reward. It’s never that simple.
Spending is something that Celtic have done a lot of over the years. Spending wisely has been their problem. Splurging money on last-minute loans who, surprisingly, turn out to be duds.
Forking out multiple millions on recent and not so recent failures – from Balikwisha to Barkas – has been the problem. The decision-making has been awful too often.
Duran represents a return to form, a reminder of the days when they found value, mostly under Ange Postecoglou.
We’re too quick to write off players and we can also be too quick to brand them as stars in waiting. You should tread carefully at all times. With Duran we’ll take the plunge – this guy looks special.
Beyond offering a physical distraction, Kasper Hogh was quiet against LASK, but he will score plenty in the weeks and months ahead. At £11m, he, too, looks like money very well spent.
Following the start of the US-Israel war on Iran,, the first match of the Iranian league was played last week.
Published On 18 Aug 202618 Aug 2026
Iranian clubs have been confirmed to play at neutral venues against their Qatari and United Arab Emirates opponents following the draw for the group stage of the Asian Champions League Elite.
Matches in the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) premier event, which was drawn on Tuesday, begin on September 14.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Tehran’s Esteghlal and Tabriz-based Tractor will face UAE sides Al Ain, Al Wasl and Shabab Al-Ahli, and Qatari clubs Al Gharafa, Al Sadd and Al Shamal, despite the ongoing conflict in the region.
Esteghlal and Tractor avoided the heavily favoured Saudi Arabian contingent.
Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, Iran has struck targets in Qatar and the UAE, saying it is retaliating for allowing US bases to be used for strikes.
Iran’s neighbours have implored Tehran to stop firing at them. On Sunday, Iran claimed three of its pilots who went missing in March were being held in Qatar, though Doha denied the charge.
Iran’s domestic league was suspended in February as attacks began but returned last weekend with one match behind closed doors and others under capacity restrictions.
The AFC Elite features two 16-team regional zones. In the west, Saudi Arabia has five representatives, including Jeddah’s Al-Ahli, which is aiming to become the first club to win three straight Champions League titles. Coach Matthias Jaissle left this month to take over English Premier League side Newcastle.
Riyadh rival Al-Hilal is seeking a fifth title, while Cristiano Ronaldo leads Al-Nassr back into the competition after winning the Saudi Pro League in May.
In the east, Japan reached the final in the past two editions, with Kawasaki Frontale and Machida Zelvia losing to Al-Ahli, though neither has qualified this year.
Gamba Osaka won in 2008, and South Korea also supplies two former champions: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, aiming for a third crown, and Pohang Steelers, looking for a fourth.
The top eight from each group advance to the round of 16. From the quarterfinals onward, all matches will be played in Saudi Arabia, with the final set for May 1.
