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GOAL! Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Arsenal (Martinelli 72) Won’tcha look at that depth. Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli, on the field for less than a minute, has given them the lead in Bilbao.
Barry Glendenning is watching that game.
60 min: PSV 0-2 Union SG The first goal of this year’s Champions League proper was a penalty from Union Saint-Gilloise’s Promise David. Anouar Ait El Hadj scored a fine second shortly before half-time, leaving PSV Eindhoven with it all to do.
Benfica v Qarabag FK team news
Benfica Trubin, Dedic, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Dahl, Rios, Barrenechea, Aursnes, Sudakov, Schjelderup, Pavlidis.
Subs: Soares, Obrador, Ivanovic, Barreiro, Prestianni, Henrique Araujo, Tomas Araujo, Oliveira, Veloso, Prioste, Rego, Santos.
Qarabag FK Kochalski, Matheus Silva, Mustafazade, Medina, Cafarquliyev, Pedro Bicalho, Jankovic, Andrade, Borges, Zoubir, Duran.
Subs: Badavi Huseynov, Abbas Huseynov, Bayramov, Qurbanly, Kashchuk, Daniel, Addai, Kouakou, Mmaee, Buntic, Mahammadaliyev.
Referee Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)
Juventus v Borussia Dortmund team news
Juventus Di Gregorio, McKennie, Bremer, Kelly, Kalulu Kyatengwa, Koopmeiners, Thuram, Cambiaso, Yildiz, David, Openda.
Subs: Cabal, Joao Mario, Rugani, Kostic, Adzic, Zhegrova, Vlahovic, Francisco Conceicao, Locatelli, Gatti, Pinsoglio, Perin.
Borussia Dortmund Kobel, Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini, Yan Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson, Adeyemi, Beier, Guirassy.
Subs: Ostrzinski, Meyer, Bellingham, Brandt, Gross, Chukwuemeka, Campbell, Mane, Kabar.
Referee Francois Letexier (France)
Real Madrid v Marseille team news
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been left out for two of Real Madrid’s last three games, returns to the starting XI. Franco Mastantuono, the teenager signed from River Plate, makes his Champions League debut.
Real Madrid Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, Huijsen, Carreras, Valverde, Tchouameni, Mastantuono, Guler, Rodrygo, Mbappe.
Subs: Lunin, Gonzalez, Carvajal, Alaba, Bellingham, Camavinga, Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo Garcia, Asencio, Ceballos, Francisco Garcia, Diaz.
Marseille Rulli, Medina, Balerdi, Pavard, Emerson Palmieri, Kondogbia, Hojbjerg, Greenwood, O’Riley, Weah, Aubameyang.
Subs: de Lange, Van Neck, Egan-Riley, Gomes, Gouiri, Igor Paixao, Vermeeren, Nadir, Vaz, Bakola, Murillo.
Referee Irfan Peljto (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Preamble
The Champions League is back, baby! The road to glory is arduous, taking almost nine months, but the journey will be worth it for whoever gets to lift the trophy in Budapest on 30 May 2026.
The club who part-own that trophy, Real Madrid, are one of 12 teams in action of opening night. We have separate liveblogs for Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal (5.45pm) and Lads, We Really Need to Put This To Bed and Just Call Them Tottenham v Villarreal (8pm), so it’s the job of clockwatch to flirt with nystagmus and follow the other games:
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PSV 0-2 Union SG (5.45pm)
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Benfica v Qarabag FK
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Juventus v Borussia Dortmund
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Real Madrid v Marseille
Madrid take the headlines, they just do, but Juventus v Dortmund looks the best game of the night. It’s also a repeat of the memorable 1997 final, in which Zinedine Zidane was kept quiet by Mike Yarwood.
The team news will arrive shortly. In the meantime, erm, pour yourself something nice?
