European Super Football

Eintracht Frankfurt 5 - 1 Galatasaray Eintracht Frankfurt recovered from an early setback to secure a commanding win over Galatasaray in their Champions League opener. Author | Ed Stadium | Deutsche Bank Park Pre-match scenes In a raucous atmosphere, the visitors struck first after only eight minutes. Former Manchester City winger Leroy Sané won possession in his own half, surged forward and slipped in Yunus Akgün, who finished neatly into the bottom corner. Frankfurt, however, turned the game on its head with three goals in the space of 12 minutes before the interval. Davinson Sánchez was unfortunate to turn the ball into his own net after Ugurcan Çakir had parried Ritsu Dōan’s effort.  Moments later, 19-year-old Turkey international Can Uzan scored against his country’s champions with an instinctive strike on the turn. On the stroke of half-time Galatasaray conceded a second own goal, Wilfried Singo heading past his own goalkeeper while attempting to clear a free-kick. Home fan...

Newcastle United 1 - 2 Barcelona Marcus Rashford made a spectacular Champions League bow for Barcelona as Newcastle United's campaign got off to a losing start at St James' Park. Author | Anthony Gates Stadium | St James' Park The forward, on loan from Manchester United, broke open a tense contest with two decisive second-half strikes that left Eddie Howe’s side chasing shadows. A closer analysis of what happened Howe had raised eyebrows with his team selection, opting to leave £69m summer signing Nick Woltemade on the bench and deploying Anthony Gordon through the middle. The experiment faltered as Newcastle found themselves increasingly overwhelmed by Barcelona’s control, with Rashford the clinical difference. It was an emphatic statement from Rashford, who featured in the tournament while on loan at Aston Villa last season, and who slotted seamlessly into Barcelona’s attack despite the absence of injured teenager Lamine Yamal . The 26-year-old received a standing ...

Manchester City 2 - 0 Napoli Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 Champions League goals as City were forced to dig deep in their victory over Napoli. Author | Macca Stadium | Etihad Stadium Haaland needed just 49 games to reach the milestone, nodding in a second-half header to put City on course for three points. Doku scored City's 2nd after 65 minutes to give them the perfect start.  The 2023 Champions League winners played most of the match against ten men after Giovanni di Lorenzo was sent off. A closer look at what happened City dominated possession as anticipated but Pep Guardiola will have been frustrated that his side were not ahead at the interval, despite a barrage of efforts that met an inspired Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the Napoli goal. The Serbian produced a series of outstanding saves, denying Tijjani Reijnders with a sharp stop, blocking Phil Foden’s low effort and turning away a fierce volley from Rodri. He also clawed out headers from Nico O’...

Ajax 0 - 2 Inter Milan Marcus Thuram scored twice as Inter Milan began their Champions League campaign with a convincing win at Ajax.  Author | Ed Stadium | Johan Cruijff ArenA Thuram headed in from two Hakan Calhanoglu corners, one in each half, to continue his excellent start to the season. The 28-year-old now has five goals in four games across all competitions, providing last season’s beaten finalists with the perfect response as they look to move on from their heavy defeat by Paris St-Germain in May’s final. A closer analysis of what happened Cristian Chivu, who succeeded Simone Inzaghi after that loss, kept faith with much of the side that started in Munich, naming eight of the same players. He was rewarded with a fluent and assured performance, Thuram at the heart of it. With Lautaro Martínez left on the bench due to a back issue, the former Borussia Monchengladbach forward carried the main attacking threat throughout. Thuram had gone close before his opener, flashing on...

PSG 4 - 0 Atalanta Paris St-Germain began the defence of their Champions League crown in emphatic fashion with a commanding win over Atalanta at the Parc des Princes. Author | Andrea Stadium | Parc des Princes The holders, who lifted their first European title with a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in May, quickly imposed themselves on another Serie A opponent. Marquinhos struck inside three minutes, steering in Fabian Ruiz’s low cross from the left. Luis Enrique’s side created a flurry of chances as Nuno Mendes fired narrowly wide, teenager Senny Mayulu saw an effort deflected over and Marco Carnesecchi produced fine saves to keep out Bradley Barcola and Achraf Hakimi. The pressure eventually told when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead before half-time, the Georgian skipping past defenders and rifling home from 18 yards. Enrique, who had taken a vantage point high in the stands for the opening half, saw his side handed the chance to extend their advantage from the spot after Yu...

Bayern Munich 3 - 1 Chelsea Harry Kane took full advantage of Chelsea’s defensive frailties to score twice for Bayern Munich. Author | Lewis W Stadium | Allianz Arena The England captain, now 32, opened the scoring from the penalty spot after being fouled by Moisés Caicedo and later sealed the win with a curling finish after Malo Gusto ’s misplaced pass. Chelsea had already gifted Bayern a lead when Trevoh Chalobah diverted the ball into his own net. A returning Cole Palmer offered brief hope with a superb strike into the top corner on his 100th appearance for the club, but the revival never truly gathered momentum. READ MORE |  Virgil van Dijk the hero as Liverpool leave it late again READ MORE |  Arsenal start Champions League campaign with a win There were warnings in the second half, with Michael Olise spurning a chance and Kane also misfiring when Chelsea were pushing for an equaliser. Any lingering optimism was extinguished when Kane punished Gusto’s mistake in...

Liverpool 3 - 2 Atletico Madrid Arne Slot's side are certainly making a habit of these late winners. This time it was Virgil van Dijk with the deciding goal. Author | William G Stadium | Anfield Virgil van Dijk’s header in the 92nd minute sealed the victory, marking the third time this season that the side have struck in stoppage time.  Arne Slot’s side had looked in danger of letting the game slip away after surrendering a two-goal lead, established inside the opening six minutes by Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah. Marcos Llorente scored twice for Atletico , but Liverpool’s habit of finding late winners endured. A closer look at what happened Liverpool made the perfect start, taking the lead inside four minutes in fortunate circumstances. Salah’s low free-kick deflected off Robertson, wrong-footing Jan Oblak and finding the net. Two minutes later, the Reds doubled their advantage with a slick move. Salah exchanged passes with Ryan Gravenberch before calmly finishi...

Benfica 2 - 3 Qarabag Qarabag staged a remarkable comeback in Lisbon to become the first Azerbaijani side to win a match in the Champions League proper. Author | Ed Stadium | Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Making their first appearance in Europe’s elite competition in eight years, Gurban Gurbanov’s team fell two goals behind inside 16 minutes after strikes from Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis put Benfica firmly in control. Leandro Andrade reduced the deficit on the half-hour with a fine finish before Kady Borges went close, clipping the post. Three minutes after the restart, the visitors stunned the Estadio da Luz when Marko Jankovic split the defence with a precise pass and Camilo Duran, on his Champions League debut, found the far corner. READ MORE |  Juventus and Dortmund play out a classic in Turin READ MORE |  Mbappe penalties rescue Real Madrid The decisive moment came five minutes from time. Substitute Oleksii Kashchuk collected the ball with his back to g...

Juventus 4 - 4 Borussia Dortmund Englishman Lloyd Kelly struck a dramatic equaliser in the sixth minute of added time to rescue a point for Juventus following an eight-goal spectacle at home to Dortmund. Author | Andrea Stadium | Allianz Stadium The centre-back, who joined from Newcastle in the summer, had earlier conceded a penalty that allowed Dortmund to take a 4-2 lead. He made amends when he met Dusan Vlahovic’s 94th-minute finish with a headed goal two minutes later. The match provided a remarkable second-half display, with all eight goals coming after the 51st minute and Juventus recovering from conceding three times. It was only the second Champions League match to see eight goals scored in one half, following Bayern Munich’s 9-2 victory over Dinamo Zagreb last season. READ MORE |  Arsenal start Champions League campaign with a win The first half offered little indication of what was to follow, with both sides largely cancelling each other out in midfield during a ...

Real Madrid 2 - 1 Marseille Kylian Mbappé scored twice from the penalty spot as 10-man Real Madrid fought back to beat Marseille in their opening Champions League fixture. Author | Jack L Stadium | Santiago Bernabéu Madrid were dealt an early setback when Trent Alexander-Arnold hobbled off with a suspected hamstring injury inside three minutes. Matters worsened when his replacement, Dani Carvajal , was dismissed 18 minutes from time for a head-to-head confrontation with Marseille goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the 15-time European champions prevailed thanks to Mbappé, who dispatched both spot-kicks with power and precision to take his tally to six goals in five appearances this season. A closer analysis of what happened Marseille had drawn first blood in the 22nd minute through Timothy Weah , whose thunderous effort beat Thibaut Courtois after Mason Greenwood had seized on an error from Arda Güler in midfield. Their advantage was short-lived, ho...

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 0 Villarreal Thomas Frank marked his Champions League bow with a win as Tottenham profited from a gift of a goal by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior. Author | Greg S Stadium | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Spurs pre match display Just four minutes in, Junior inexplicably spilled Lucas Bergvall ’s cross into his own net, handing Spurs the perfect start in north London. It was a dream opening for Frank, managing in Europe’s premier competition for the first time since leaving Brentford , though his side were made to sweat before the interval. Micky van de Ven produced a vital block to deny former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pépé, while Tajon Buchanan squandered a clear chance when through on goal. Junior atoned in part with a sharp save from  Pape Matar Sarr  midway through the first half, keeping  Villarreal  in the contest. READ MORE |  Arsenal start Champions League campaign with a win READ MORE |  Champions League news and stories 25/26 se...

Athletic Club 0 - 2 Arsenal Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard came off the bench to deliver the goals as Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with victory over Athletic Club. Author | DJ Stadium | San Mames Martinelli needed just 36 seconds to make his mark, racing through to score after being set up by Trossard midway through the second half. The Brazilian then turned provider, beating his man before laying the ball back for Trossard to tuck in a second with four minutes to play. It was far from straightforward for Mikel Arteta’s side. Athletic, returning to the competition for the first time since 2014-15, flew out of the blocks backed by a raucous San Mamés crowd. Alejandro Berenguer was a persistent threat and the hosts had Arsenal penned in for long spells of the first half. The Gunners did create the clearest chance before the interval, Viktor Gyökeres heading wide from close range, but overall struggled to assert themselves. Gyökeres later finished the match...

The league phase of the Champions League returns this week Are we going to see any shock results over the next few weeks? Author | Ed PSG fans tifo before 2025 Champions League final A closer look at the format The Champions League underwent a major overhaul ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, introducing a new 36-team league stage . In this expanded format, each club faces eight different opponents, split evenly between home and away fixtures. The top eight sides at the end of the league stage advance directly to the last 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th must contest a two-legged play-off to join them. Clubs that end the phase in 25th place or lower are eliminated from Europe altogether, with no drop into the Europa League . What happened at this stage in 2024/2025? Last season Liverpool finished top with 21 points, with Arsenal and Aston Villa also securing places in the top eight. Celtic and Manchester City moved into the play-off round, while Club Brugge squee...

There were wins for Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday Last season's champions are still to drop a point this campaign. Author | Josh D Let's have a closer look at what happened. Burnley 0 - 1 Liverpool Super Local Sports News was at Turf Moor as Liverpool once again left it late as Mohamed Salah ’s stoppage-time penalty preserved their perfect start to the Premier League season and denied Burnley a hard-earned point. The hosts had looked on course to frustrate the champions until substitute Hannibal handled Jeremie Frimpong ’s cross deep into added time, giving Salah the chance to lash home in front of the jubilant away end. The Egyptian’s winner arrived just as Burnley seemed set to become the first side to take points off Arne Slot ’s side this campaign. The Liverpool manager opted to leave £125m record signing Alexander Isak out of the squad as the striker builds fitness, but his team instead found themselves battling against a wall of claret resistance. Manche...