On Tuesday, September 8, the new Champions League season kicks off. From September 8 to 10, the matches of Matchday 1 of the league phase will take place, with the 36 strongest clubs in Europe beginning their battle for the trophy. Fans can look forward to high-profile clashes, the start of the only representative of Ukraine—the Donetsk-based "Shakhtar"—as well as matches involving our legionnaires and a Ukrainian team of referees, UNN writes.
The format of this season's Champions League
This is already the third Champions League season with the new format: a single league table comprising 36 teams. The 8 best clubs will qualify directly for the round of 16, while the teams finishing in places 9–24 will play in the round of 32 for progression.
Eight matchdays are scheduled in the league phase of the Champions League. Matchday 1: September 8–10, 2026; Matchday 2: October 13–14, 2026; Matchday 3: October 20–21, 2026; Matchday 4: November 3–4, 2026; Matchday 5: November 24–25, 2026; Matchday 6: December 8–9, 2026; Matchday 7: January 19–20, 2027; Matchday 8: January 27, 2027.
Schedule of Matchday 1 matches, September 8–10
This year's Champions League campaign will open on Tuesday, September 8, with "Club Brugge" hosting "Aston Villa" and Oleksandr Zubkov's "AEK" hosting "LASK".
Ukraine national team winger Oleksandr Zubkov has moved to Greek side AEK03.06.26, 16:47
The matches will begin at 19:45.
Four more matches will also take place that evening. "Borussia" (Dortmund) will host "Villarreal," "Lille" will face "Betis," "Manchester City" will visit "Porto," and Andriy Lunin's "Real Madrid" will face "Inter."
On Wednesday, September 9, another series of matches will take place, including "Barcelona"—"Feyenoord" and "Stuttgart" facing the debutants—FC "Viking." Both matches will take place at 19:45.
At 22:00, "Liverpool"—"Atlético," "Napoli"—"Arsenal," and Illia Zabarnyi's "PSG"—Danilo Ihnatenko and Mykola Kukharevych's "Slovan" will be played.
The final matches of Matchday 1 will take place on Thursday, September 10. At 19:45, "Fenerbahçe" will face "Roma," while at 22:00: "Bayern"—"Bodø/Glimt"; "Como"—"RB Leipzig"; another tournament debutant, "Sabah," will face "Manchester United," and Nazar Domchak's "Slavia Prague" will take on "Lens."
Karpaty goalkeeper Nazar Domchak has moved to Czech side Slavia for €5 million28.05.26, 23:20
Ukrainian clubs' participation in the tournament
In this season's Champions League campaign, Ukraine is represented by only one team—the Donetsk-based "Shakhtar." As UNN reported, following the draw, "Shakhtar," which was in Pot 3, was given the following opponents:
- Madrid's “Real Madrid” (home);
- Milan's “Inter” (home);
- Lisbon's “Sporting”;
- Eindhoven's “PSV”;
- Istanbul's “Fenerbahçe”;
- “Leipzig”;
- Athens' “AEK”;
- Bratislava's “Slovan”.
“Shakhtar” learned their opponents in the Champions League group27.08.26, 20:43
The "Miners" will play their first match "at home" at Stamford Bridge in London. On September 10, the Donetsk side will host the Dutch club "PSV." The final whistle will sound at 19:45.
"Shakhtar" plans to hold Champions League "home matches" in London21.08.26, 19:41
In addition to Ukrainian footballers and "Shakhtar," a "Ukrainian trace" in the first Champions League matchday will also be left by a Ukrainian team of referees.
Mykola Balakin will be the referee in charge of the match between "Paris Saint-Germain" and "Slovan." Oleksandr Berkut and Viktor Matiash will assist him on the lines. The fourth official is Dmytro Panchyshyn. England's Michael Salisbury and Slovenia's Matej Jug will be responsible for operating the VAR system.
All matches can be watched on the Megogo platform.