September 11, 2026, 10:33 AM
Manchester United marked their return to the UEFA Champions League with a convincing 4–0 victory over Sabah at Old Trafford, while Bayern Munich, Como and Lens also made winning starts on an eventful opening night of the league phase. Six fixtures were played on Thursday, producing 23 goals and a dramatic late comeback in Prague.
United took control against Azerbaijani champions Sabah through first-half goals from Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Šeško. Lisandro Martínez added a fourth after the break as Michael Carrick’s side secured their first Champions League victory in more than 1,000 days. Sabah’s starting XI was made up of players from 11 different nationalities, a first in the competition’s history.
Bayern Munich began their campaign with a 5–0 victory over Bodø/Glimt at the Allianz Arena. Jamal Musiala broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half in his first start since returning from illness, before Harry Kane headed in Bayern’s second from a Michael Olise free-kick. Alphonso Davies added a third, and Olise completed the scoreline with two late goals.
Kane’s goal was his 34th in 39 Champions League appearances for Bayern, while Olise finished the evening with two goals and an assist. The win extended Bayern’s unbeaten home run in Champions League group-stage and league-phase matches to 39 games.
Como enjoyed a memorable Champions League debut, defeating RB Leipzig 4–1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Martin Baturina opened the scoring before creating Tasos Douvikas’s goal, while Assane Diao struck shortly after half-time. Andrija Maksimović pulled one back for Leipzig, but Máximo Perrone completed Como’s historic night with a late fourth.
Lens produced the most dramatic result of the evening, recovering from 2–1 down after 90 minutes to beat 10-man Slavia Prague 3–2. Abdallah Sima had equalised for Lens after Danijel Sturm’s first goal, but Sturm struck again in the 88th minute to put Slavia on course for victory. Florian Thauvin headed in a 91st-minute equaliser before Ruben Aguilar drove home the winner two minutes later.
Slavia had played much of the second half with 10 men after substitute Mikuláš Konečný was sent off shortly after the restart. Thauvin was named Player of the Match after inspiring Lens’s extraordinary late turnaround.
Fenerbahçe and Roma drew 1–1 in Istanbul, while PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk shared the points by the same scoreline. Bryan Cristante gave Roma the lead before Archie Brown equalised for Fenerbahçe, and Gleiker Mendoza’s first-half goal for Shakhtar was cancelled out by Sergiño Dest early in the second half.
Fenerbahçe’s draw was followed by off-field turmoil when head coach İsmail Kartal announced his resignation after being struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd. Club president Aziz Yıldırım initially rejected the resignation, but Fenerbahçe accepted Kartal’s departure the following day after efforts to persuade him to stay proved unsuccessful.
