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Senior Writer, ESPN FC- Gabriele Marcotti is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @Marcotti.
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ESPN- Sam is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster for ESPN. He will write on the Premier League, scouting and transfers.
The 2026-27 UEFA Champions League is officially in full swing with 36 teams across this still-kinda-new league phase playing their opening games across three days. And already, with some Matchday 1 games on Thursday still to come, we have plenty to talk about.
On Tuesday, Manchester City and Real Madrid picked up wins that showed flashes of their respective best, though with questions marks around both teams given unconvincing performances. Then, on Wednesday, Barcelona smashed Feyenoord 5-1, Paris Saint-Germain put six past Slovan Bratislava, Liverpool dug deep to beat Atlético Madrid at Anfield, and Arsenal left it late to finally break down Napoli 1-0 with a Martin Ødegaard goal 10 minutes from the end.
So, what to make of it all? ESPN FC writers Gab Marcotti, Mark Ogden, Rob Dawson and Sam Tighe are here to break down the action as it happened and look ahead to the second legs.
(Editor's Note: We will update this file after Thursday's matches with some fresh talking points to fully take in the whole Matchday.)
- UCL Power Rankings, MD1: Which club is No. 1?
- Haaland can keep Man City on top -- as long as he stays fit
- UCL as it happened: Liverpool hang on to beat Atleti
Q1. REAL MADRID 2-1 INTERNAZIONALE: Once again, Thibaut Courtois saved the day after Los Blancos raced out to a 2-0 lead, with Trent Alexander-Arnold not really working in midfield. Meet the new Real Madrid ... is the same as the old Madrid? Are they really a front-runner at this point, or has Jose Mourinho got a more difficult job on his hands than we first thought?
Marcotti: They won, didn't they? The worst-case scenario is they play like this and with Courtois between the sticks, and ridiculously fast forwards like Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior up front, they'll always have a chance of winning. That's the bottom line, and I base it more on performance than the game itself.
Yes, Inter Milan outshot them and had 64% possession at the Bernabeu, crucially self-destructing with two craven mistakes that led to Real Madrid's goals. But the basic formula -- Courtois performs magic at one end, one or more stars score at the other -- worked. (And even without Inter's defensive errors, on a normal day, it took some big Josep Martínez saves to keep Madrid out.)
That's the worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario is Mourinho gets this team ticking as it should, finds the right balance up front and at the back, and his big guns deliver. So more than one thing can be true: Mourinho has a difficult job and a long road ahead -- lest we forget, the man just got there and most of his team returned late from the World Cup -- but at the same time, even amid these conditions, they can beat anybody on their day.
Dawson: Real Madrid are always a front-runner. Just look at their team. The expanded league phase is forgiving for the big teams, and they should reach the knockout rounds regardless of their form.
Beyond that, they've got big players who can win games by themselves. No one ever wants to face Real Madrid in the Champions League and that tells its own story.
One of the biggest questions around this version of Real Madrid is Mourinho. He has history in this competition that shouldn't be overlooked, but it's been a while since he was in charge of a truly top team at this level.
Ogden: I don't see a problem here. As Gab says, Real won, and they won against a decent Inter team too. Mourinho won't care about those possession stats, either: I think we've all now accepted that they are a pretty pointless metric because winning teams are happy to let their opponents have the ball so they can sit back and hit them on the counter-attack.
Ultimately, Real are stacked with attacking talent and have a coach who knows how to organise a defence, so they have the ingredients to go all the way. Personally, I would back PSG to beat Real, but they are the only side out there who I would confidently expect to win in any circumstances. On their day, Mourinho's Real could beat Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, so yes, they are definitely a front-runner.
Tighe: Surely the worst case scenario is that they lose, Gab? (Ha ha!)
I jest, of course, and without wishing to start the Champions League season off on the wrong foot, Gab has had Madrid nailed for years: Courtois + Mbappé is a formula that can win any game of football, which means it's also a potential recipe for broader success.
However, I also think it's fair to suggest they will come unstuck at some point this season if they are consistently that easy to play against and break down. It's only Matchday 1, so nobody should be sounding the alarm just yet, but if I don't see steady improvement between now and Christmas, I'm not going to have much faith in them when we sit here and make our knockout stage predictions in January.
FC PORTO 0-2 MAN CITY: Erling Haaland was the man yet again for City, scoring twice and leading the early goals race (along with Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy). That's 59 goals in 59 career Champions League games now, after being the quickest-ever player to reach 50 goals in Europe's top competition. But he needs help, and although Ayyoub Bouaddi was good in midfield, Gianluigi Donnarumma doesn't look like the keeper they need him to be, and the fullbacks were again not good enough. If Haaland stops scoring, how can this team keep going?
Dawson: Haaland is a big question mark for City this season. They've invested around £450 million in the squad this summer, but since Omar Marmoush joined Tottenham Hotspur in the final days of the transfer window, there's no natural replacement if Haaland gets injured.
New City manager Enzo Maresca will have to be clever. He needs Haaland fit and in rhythm as much as possible, but his minutes will have to be carefully managed and Haaland has already hinted that a summer spent at the World Cup is taking its toll.
City have started the season with four straight wins in all competitions, but they are a completely different team without Haaland up front. He's the one player they cannot do without.
Ogden: I was in Porto for the game on Tuesday and one thing that stood out inside Estadio do Dragao was the anticipation among the home supporters whenever the ball was played back to Donnarumma in the City goal. They sensed he was edgy and nervous, and it was only through bad luck on the home side's part that they didn't score from one of the Italy No. 1's errors of judgement.
Maresca said after the game that his players were at fault, not Donnarumma, because they were passing back to him too often. That's an incredible claim, and one that'll play into the hands of opponents who will now target Donnarumma even more.
So what does this all mean? It means that even though Haaland is the deadliest forward in the world, the issue in goal could cost City dearly against a top team, which bears out the old maxim that you are only as strong as your weakest link -- and City's weakness is Donnarumma.
With or without Haaland's goals, City have a problem with their goalkeeper.
Tighe: Donnarumma is a fascinating talking point, because he is both a greatness and a weakness.
We have hard evidence that his miraculous shot-stopping ability can play a pivotal role in winning a Champions League. PSG would not have got past Arsenal in 2024-25 -- heck, they may not have even got past Aston Villa in the round before -- without his heroics. That team found a way to play the best possession football on the planet with him in goal.
It is often said that a goalkeeper just like him can be the match-winning difference on the biggest stage. It's not far off from the Courtois discussion we had with Madrid, is it?
Perhaps the difference here is that as a coach, Maresca is so incredibly dogmatic in his approach and principles that he will end up selling Donnarumma down the river tactically. Meanwhile, Luis Enrique was always willing to make adjustments for the good of the team.
Marcotti: Really? Manchester City win and keep a clean sheet away from home against a team that had lost once at home in the Champions League in the previous four years, and we're talking about how Donnarumma could be a problem? And the reason he's (supposedly) a problem is that he's not as comfortable on the ball as other keepers?
His job is to keep balls out. Francesco Farioli's Porto presses very aggressively and when teams do that, they leave space behind. A big boot up the pitch for Haaland and Antoine Semenyo to chase, and it's Porto -- or anybody else who presses like that -- who'll pay the price. If Donnarumma is City's biggest problem, then they're in a pretty good position.
Maresca isn't stupid; he knows he can't ask or expect Donnarumma to do with the ball at his feet what some other keepers are capable of. He'll adjust.
As for Haaland, that's a more interesting subject. Marmoush isn't really a Haaland substitute, so I don't think it's a big deal that he left. He did his best work in a front two or on the wing rather than as a lone striker anyway.
I am a little surprised they didn't look at replacements, but of course, it's not easy to find a an off-brand Haaland; you're more likely to end up with a different sort of player. I'd imagine when Haaland needs a breather, they can shift Semenyo or Iliman Ndiaye up front. Even Phil Foden could do it. At that point, you're not going to play with a center-forward anyway -- just a guy who can make the right runs at the right time.
Q3. LIVERPOOL 2-1 ATLETICO MADRID: For a while, it followed a familiar script for their meetings: LFC dominate early but fall behind, play catch up the entire time, level the game ... and then when it felt like it would again drift into Diego Simeone's favor, the Reds reversed course and deservedly took all three points. Is this starting to look like the Liverpool side Andoni Iraola is trying to shape? Or were they just lucky for a change?
Dawson: There was a lot to like for Liverpool. Florian Wirtz looked sharp and Bradley Barcola was quick and dangerous. He should have scored at least once, but it was a promising first start.
This is a work in progress for Iraola and it's going to take time. There are signs, though, that at least the attacking phases of play are starting to click.
Liverpool have had a bit of stick for their defensive frailties, but it's now eight goals scored in four games. That's a healthy return for any team, nevermind one still getting to grips with the methods of a new manager.
Ogden: I'm not convinced by the positive tone here. Let's not forget how open and naive Liverpool were in the first half. Overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat Atlético Madrid is a good result on any Champions League night, but I still think Iraola has some big problems to address.
The biggest issue is how to accommodate Dominik Szoboszlai and Wirtz in the same team. Ultimately, I don't think you can. Szoboszlai looks like a player who wants the freedom to roam around the opposition half, but with Wirtz in the side, he can't do that. So, Iraola has to take one of them out. Alexis Mac Allister wants a new contract, but his form last season didn't merit a new deal this summer and his performance against Atlético -- where he was chasing shadows for much of the game and on a disciplinary tightrope after a first-half booking -- highlighted his shortcomings.
Iraola doesn't have the personnel to make the changes he has to make, so this win might just prove to be just that -- a good result -- rather than a sign of a tactical breakthrough.
Tighe: It's fine to walk away from this Liverpool performance still feeling deeply unconvinced by them. It's a measure of where they are right now, and how poor they were for the entirety of last season, that there are still many, many questions for Iraola and Co. to answer.
But let's face it: the bar is low for the Reds to impress right now; they really don't have to do much to get better week on week. That's what fans who spent all summer spinning out over a lack of transfer business are clinging onto right now, and exactly what the manager will point to at any opportunity.
I'll name a handful of those positives here: The attacking synergy between the front four looks like it's growing. Wirtz loves raw speed to play the ball into the path of and Barcola has it. Alexander Isak is impacting deep on the pitch. Jérémy Jacquet is looking more and more at home.
Unfortunately, there were two sides to Barcola's night: He made the right runs and his speed and directness brought Anfield to its feet, but he fluffed two major chances -- a noted, concerning weakness of his -- and came off injured late on.
Marcotti: I don't think this is going to be Iraola's team -- or, at least, the team Liverpool had in mind when they hired him and assembled this group of players -- for a while. It takes time for any manager and especially one whose movements and patterns of play are as distinct as Iraola's. Already we've seen him tone down some concepts to suit the players at his disposal.
On top of that, unlike his previous club Bournemouth, Iraola has to contend with European football too, which limits the time he has to work on the pitch. Furthermore, he's not playing with the guys he wans to work with, because Hugo Ekitike is still out. And I'm not even sure how much rational thinking has gone into this squad. He has three right back options -- Jeremie Frimpong, Ronald Araújo and Conor Bradley -- and they're all radically different from each other and radically different from the guy who played the position for Iraola at Bournemouth.
That said, it's three points against a very tough opponent and Liverpool showed character in coming from behind. Some guys -- Jacquet, Isak -- showed growth. I'm not sure you can carry the 4-2-3-1 with Szoboszlai as one of your two, but he's still probably Liverpool's most important player.
Q4. BARCELONA 5-1 FEYENOORD: Raphinha has picked up where he left off last season, scoring the kind of goal early on that kids dream of, putting two defenders on their backsides with one single move and then casually finishing. He has EIGHT goals already in just five Barça games, but ... are we sold on Barcelona? Their stats are gaudy -- five wins from five including their UCL opener, outscoring opponents by 22-3 -- but are we convinced by them?
Ogden: Barcelona are definitely a contender this season. Lamine Yamal is a year older and more experienced and Raphinha is flying again. The addition of Rodri could be the game-changer because he brings discipline and a defensive mindset to a very attack-minded team. Barca hammered Feyenoord and they will do that to all of the lower-ranked teams, especially on that huge pitch at Camp Lou.
But when it comes to the crunch, can they really defend well enough over two legs to beat PSG, Bayern or Arsenal? That's the big question about Hansi Flick's team and we won't know until the spring, but if they can, it will be because of Rodri just as much as Raphinha.
Dawson: Yes. Or at least as sold as you can be in early September. You can only judge a team on what they've done and Barcelona are averaging more than four goals a game. It won't last (at least the rest of Spain and Europe hope it won't) but it shows exactly what they're capable of. As Mark says, Rodri is a massive addition. He's the type of player who can control the tempo of a game -- knowing when to quicken it up and when to slow it down. His game management could be vital in the latter rounds. For now, though, he can just sit back and let Raphinha, Yamal and the rest run rings round defences.
Tighe: Raphinha is one of the stories of the matchday and, potentially, the story of the European season so far for me. He's been thrust up front for Barcelona largely because they fumbled the Julián Álvarez signing and waved goodbye to 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski this summer and ... well, wouldn't you know it? He's been unbelievable as the No. 9 so far.
It looks like he's been playing there all his life. He makes the right runs, times them well, deceives defenders and finishes sharply. His dummy to send those two Feyenoord defenders for a hotdog ... my word, what a sight that was in the pouring rain.
He won't carry Barca's attacking effort alone -- Yamal is still the starboy and Gabriel Jesus has made a goal-scoring start to his Camp Nou career -- and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up this pace (not necessarily goals per game, but just sheer level of impact on the pitch) as the striker. Opponents will steadily adjust to him, perhaps figure him out. What then?
It could make or break the first half of Barça's season, because no matter how much control they exert, there is going to be a couple of games where they need a terrible, awful, scuffed, scrappy finish to nick all three points. That's when a true striker steps forward.
Marcotti: The question is whether we're sold on Barcelona and for me the answer is easy: no. You can't be sold on anyone at this stage. And yes, it's true that you can only beat what's in front of you, but until you prove yourself against better opposition you haven't proved much. So, for me, I'll be sold when they show other aspects of their game against better opponents.
That said, sure, they look scary good. And I think it's hugely impressively how quickly a guy like Anthony Gordon, for example, has settled in. That's a credit to Flick. We knew Raphinha was going to be motivated after his World Cup injury (and Fermín López even more so after being left at home) but, again, how quickly they adapted to playing a striker-less system ... that's hugely impressive. As is the fact that guys like Pau Cubarsí and Yamal came out of the gates so strong. Wasn't the World Cup supposed to be thoroughly exhausting? Weren't we all told how it was going to take months for people to get back to form after playing in a World Cup? What happened to that?
Flick plays his way and, almost by definition, there will be tough times ahead. At some point, the front four will tire or miss a pressing rotation and then it's a ball over the top and there are only so many times Cubarsi and Gerard Martín can defend effectively in space. And when it happens, we'll be talking about the high line and all that stuff. (And, by the way, that's not something Rodri is going to fix all by himself.)
In terms of top-to-bottom talent, Barcelona are right up there. But it's still high-risk/high-reward football beyond how any other team in Europe play. Getting it to work regularly against very good teams is something they haven't shown yet.