A full results roundup from every fixture played on the final night of Champions League Matchday
One

Matchday 1, 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase | Results from Thursday 10 September
2026

By The Matchday Pundit

A Night That Delivered on Every Front
The opening matchday of this season’s Champions League league phase reached its conclusion on
Thursday night, and the six fixtures that closed out the round provided almost everything a fan of
European football could have asked for. There were routine wins delivered by the traditional
heavyweights, a dramatic late twist in the Czech Republic, two goalless stalemates that ended level,
and the enduring romance of newcomers Como making an unforgettable entrance onto the
continent’s biggest stage. Manchester United and Bayern Munich were the standout performers of the
evening, while there was late drama in Prague and an emotional development in Istanbul that
overshadowed the result itself.

Across the six matches, sixteen different clubs across the wider matchday managed to collect
maximum points from their opening fixture, continuing a broader pattern already established over the
previous two evenings of action. Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and Barcelona head the very
early table after the full round of fixtures, though Thursday’s results on their own offered plenty of
individual talking points that deserve a closer look before attention turns to the shape of the table as a
whole.

Manchester United 4:0 Sabah: A Statement Return to Europe
Manchester United marked their long awaited return to the Champions League in the most emphatic
fashion possible, cruising to a 4:0 victory over debutants Sabah at a packed Old Trafford. It was
United’s first appearance in the competition since the 2023 to 2024 campaign, and Michael Carrick
could hardly have asked for a smoother night as his side eased to victory without ever appearing to
break sweat. Matheus Cunha broke the deadlock midway through the first half with his first goal of the
season for the club, before Bruno Fernandes coolly rolled in a second after Sabah goalkeeper Stas
Pokatilov had earlier denied Joy Lance Mickels a golden opportunity at the other end.

United’s dominance was compounded further before half time when Benjamin Sesko rounded
Pokatilov and rolled the ball into an empty net to make it 3:0, a goal that effectively settled the contest
as a spectacle before the interval had even arrived. The second half was a far quieter affair by
comparison, with Lisandro Martinez eventually adding a fourth late on through a well worked set
piece routine that saw Fernandes lift a free kick over the wall for Joshua Zirkzee to control before
backheeling the ball toward goal for Martinez to finish. United’s superior underlying numbers, with an
expected goals reading of three point six seven compared with Sabah’s zero point eight nine, told
their own story about the gulf in quality on display, even if Carrick’s side deserved credit for a
professional, largely mistake free performance from start to finish.

For Sabah, there was no fairytale ending to a historic night in Manchester, with substitute Orphe
Mbina heading over in stoppage time in what proved the closest the Azerbaijani side came to a
consolation goal. Even in defeat, however, simply reaching this stage of the competition for the first
time in the club’s history represented a significant achievement, and the visiting supporters inside Old
Trafford were given every reason to feel proud of how far their club has travelled, even against
opposition of this calibre. Carrick will now turn his attention to Sunday’s Manchester derby, with the
manager afforded the luxury of introducing academy graduates Harry Amass and Shea Lacey for
their own Champions League debuts late on, a clear sign of how comfortably the result had already
been settled by that stage of the match.

Bayern Munich 5:0 Bodo or Glimt: Ruthless in Munich
If United’s evening was one of calm professionalism, Bayern Munich’s victory over Bodo or Glimt was
pure ruthless efficiency once the deadlock had finally been broken. The Norwegian visitors, who
reached the last sixteen of this competition last season on the back of memorable victories over
Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, frustrated Bayern throughout an goalless opening
period at the Allianz Arena, holding firm against wave after wave of home pressure. The breakthrough
finally arrived two minutes into the second half, however, when Jamal Musiala found the net to settle
any lingering nerves inside the stadium.

From that point onward, the floodgates opened in emphatic fashion. Harry Kane doubled Bayern’s
advantage in the sixty first minute, continuing a remarkable individual record that now stretches to
scoring in eight consecutive Champions League matches, powering home a header from a Michael
Olise free kick delivery. Alphonso Davies then made it three with a volleyed finish from a corner kick
in the seventy seventh minute, before Bodo or Glimt’s afternoon deteriorated further when defender
Odin Luras Bjortuft was shown a red card, reducing the visitors to ten men for the closing stages.

Michael Olise, in the same week that both he and Kane were nominated for the Ballon d’Or, added
Bayern’s fifth of the afternoon to complete a rout that extended the German champions’ extraordinary
record of never having lost an opening Champions League fixture across their last twenty three
attempts in the competition, a run few, if any, clubs in European football can match.

For Bodo or Glimt, the result represented a considerable comedown after their heroics in last
season’s competition, though the manner of the collapse, rather than the eventual scoreline itself, will
likely be the greater concern heading into their remaining fixtures. Holding a side of Bayern’s quality
goalless for a full forty seven minutes represented a genuinely impressive achievement in isolation,
and the Norwegian side will hope that resilience can be rediscovered once the shock of Thursday’s
second half collapse has been fully processed by the squad and coaching staff alike.

Como 4:1 RB Leipzig: A Dream Debut in Lombardy
Few results on Thursday night captured the imagination quite like Como’s stunning 4:1 victory over
RB Leipzig on their first ever appearance in the Champions League, a result that instantly elevated
Cesc Fabregas’s remarkable project in northern Italy to a genuinely European story. Croatia
international Martin Baturina opened the scoring to register Como’s first ever goal in the competition’s
history, a moment that will live long in the memory of everyone connected with the club given how far
Como have travelled through Italian football’s divisions in recent seasons to reach this stage.

Greek forward Tasos Douvikas doubled the home side’s advantage before Senegalese attacker
Assane Diao added a third, leaving Leipzig with a mountain to climb before the visitors had even
settled into the contest. Serbia midfielder Andrija Maksimovic did pull a goal back for the German
side, offering brief hope of a fightback, but any lingering belief was extinguished late on when
substitute Maximo Perrone sealed a comprehensive 4:1 victory for the hosts on what was, by any
measure, a dream night for Italian football’s newest arrivals on the continental stage. Fabregas’s side
thoroughly deserved the acclaim that followed, with the performance suggesting Como’s qualification
for this competition was no fluke but rather the product of genuine footballing quality built carefully
over recent seasons.

Slavia Prague 2:3 Lens: A Stunning Late Twist in Prague
Perhaps the most dramatic contest of the entire evening unfolded in the Czech Republic, where Lens
produced a remarkable late fightback to stun Slavia Prague 3:2 despite finding themselves reduced to
a numerical disadvantage for a significant portion of the second half after Slavia had been reduced to
ten men earlier in the game themselves. The home side had appeared to be cruising toward a routine
victory after moving into a 2:1 lead, with the Prague crowd sensing a routine and thoroughly deserved
home win given the balance of the match up to that point.

Lens, however, refused to accept defeat, drawing level through Abdallah Sima, who calmly poked
home a deflected effort that had dropped invitingly inside the penalty area following a corner kick.
With the momentum firmly swinging in the visitors’ favour, Lens then produced a stunning finish to the
contest deep into stoppage time, with Florian Thauvin and Ruben Aguilar combining to snatch a
winner that few inside the stadium could quite believe as it happened. The result represented a
considerable blow for Slavia Prague, who had appeared well on course for a positive result on home
turf, while offering Lens a hugely significant early away win that could prove pivotal when the final
league phase standings are eventually determined in the new year.

Fenerbahce 1:1 Roma and PSV 1:1 Shakhtar Donetsk: Two Contrasting Draws
The two earlier kickoffs of the evening both finished level, though the stories behind each result could
hardly have looked more different. In Istanbul, Fenerbahce and Roma shared the points in a 1:1 draw
that carried genuine historical weight for both clubs, with Roma ending a seven season absence from
the Champions League dating back to their run to the last sixteen in the 2018 to 2019 campaign,
while Fenerbahce were making their own return to Europe’s top tier competition for the first time since
the 2008 to 2009 season. Roma took the lead through a low finish from outside the penalty area by
Bryan Cristante in the thirty ninth minute, before Archie Brown restored parity for the hosts just nine
minutes later to ensure the spoils were shared on an emotionally significant night in Turkey.

That result was overshadowed almost immediately by developments away from the pitch, with
Fenerbahce head coach Ismail Kartal, who had only been appointed to the role in June, announcing
his resignation during his post match press conference. Kartal stated plainly that he had made the
decision to clear the way for his club, adding that he would never return to the role, a stunning
development that leaves Fenerbahce needing to find a new head coach at the earliest possible
opportunity as they attempt to build on their long awaited return to continental competition.

Meanwhile in Eindhoven, PSV came from behind to draw 1:1 with Shakhtar Donetsk, a result that at
least allowed the Dutch champions to end a genuinely poor recent record on opening nights in this
competition, having lost their previous five Matchday One fixtures in a row before Thursday.

Shakhtar took a surprise lead deep into first half stoppage time when Gleiker Mendoza cut in from a wide
position and drilled a stunning low finish beyond PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar, giving the Ukrainian
side a lead that appeared to catch the home crowd somewhat off guard given the balance of play up
to that point. PSV responded almost immediately after the restart, however, with United States
international Sergino Dest calmly finding the bottom corner from a low cross just three minutes into
the second half to level the scores, his third goal of the season across all competitions. Neither side
could find a winner thereafter, leaving both clubs to settle for a point apiece on an afternoon that will
likely be remembered more for PSV finally breaking their unwanted opening night curse than for the
quality of the football itself.

What Thursday’s Results Mean for the Early Table
With every club across the thirty six team league phase now having played their opening fixture, a
clear early picture is beginning to emerge at the top of the standings. Paris Saint Germain, Bayern
Munich and Barcelona currently lead the way after the full round of matchday one fixtures, reflecting
the kind of dominant scoring performances that both Bayern and Barcelona in particular were able to
produce on their respective opening nights. Manchester United’s convincing win over Sabah lifts them
into the upper reaches of the early table as well, giving Carrick’s side real early season momentum
heading into a considerably tougher upcoming test away at Atletico Madrid in October, sandwiched
around what promises to be a fiercely contested Manchester derby this coming weekend.

At the other end of the early standings, Sabah find themselves anchored toward the foot of the table
following their heavy opening night defeat, though the Azerbaijani champions will take genuine
encouragement from having competed in Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in their
nine year history, having only recently ended Qarabag’s long standing period of domestic dominance
to reach this stage. Bodo or Glimt, meanwhile, will be desperate to bounce back quickly given the
considerable gap that now exists between their result and the level of performance that carried them
so impressively through last season’s competition.

Five Talking Points From an Eventful Night
The first major talking point from Thursday night is undoubtedly the sudden resignation of Ismail
Kartal at Fenerbahce. Departing so abruptly just months into the role, and immediately after a night
that should have been a celebration of the club’s long awaited European return, adds considerable
intrigue to how Fenerbahce will approach replacing him ahead of their next fixture in this competition.
Second, Manchester United’s professional and largely mistake free performance against Sabah will
offer considerable encouragement to Michael Carrick as he prepares his squad for Sunday’s
Manchester derby. The ability to rest key players late on while still comfortably seeing out the win
suggests United possess both the quality and the squad depth to manage a genuinely demanding
fixture list across multiple competitions this season.

Third, Como’s remarkable victory over RB Leipzig deserves to be recognised as one of the standout
stories of the entire opening matchday across the whole competition. Cesc Fabregas has built
something special in northern Italy, and a debut performance of this quality on the biggest stage in
club football suggests this will not be the last time Como’s name features prominently in
conversations about this season’s Champions League.

Fourth, the manner of Lens’s late comeback victory over Slavia Prague, achieved despite significant
adversity during the match itself, points to a squad with genuine mental resilience that could prove
valuable across a long league phase campaign. Slavia, conversely, will need to quickly address
whatever defensive and game management issues contributed to squandering what had appeared to
be a routine home victory.

Fifth, and finally, Harry Kane’s continued scoring exploits for Bayern Munich, now stretching to eight
consecutive Champions League appearances with a goal to his name, underline just how remarkable
his recent individual form in this competition has become. Combined with Michael Olise’s own
excellent recent form, Bayern’s attacking output looks set to remain a considerable problem for
opponents throughout the remainder of this season’s league phase.

Looking Ahead to the Next Round of Fixtures
With matchday one now complete across the entire thirty six team field, attention across European
football turns toward domestic action before the Champions League returns for matchday two in mid
October. Manchester United will travel to face Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich head to Norway to take
on Viking, and Como will look to build on their stunning debut win when they travel to face Feyenoord.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, must first address the sudden vacancy in their dugout before they can even
begin planning for their next continental assignment. Whatever happens between now and then,
Thursday night’s action provided a thoroughly compelling conclusion to an opening matchday that
has already given this season’s Champions League league phase plenty of stories to follow in the
weeks and months ahead.

Matchday Pundit