UEFA Champions League recap: Liverpool, Arsenal secure slim wins, PSG and Barcelona run riot

Andoni Iraola’s men came back for a 2-1 win over old nemesis Marcos Llorente and Atletico Madrid, and the Spanish manager had a good time en route to the three points.

“I was enjoying it,” Iraola said, via the BBC. “They’re a very good team. Technically, in the middle, lovely players. It is not easy to press those players as they have quality.

“They have been playing together forever. We find another comeback after Forest, after Newcastle. We still have this thing to improve in the beginning of the games, but I am happy as we have shown some character. This is the Champions League, you don’t have easy games.”

Here’s the Champions League table at the moment.

Na-na-na-na-na-nana, na-na-na-nana.

Anyway, we’ve been considering whether Martin Odegaard is at his very best right now.

“As Arteta looks to attack the Gunners’ title defense, he can now do for Odegaard what Pep Guardiola so often did during the prime of Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City — let his best playmaker roam about to find the best spots to paint on his proverbial canvas.”

Read more here.

Final scores
Barcelona 5-1 Feyenoord
Stuttgart 3-1 Viking
Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid
PSG 6-1 Slovan Bratislava
Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Galatasaray
Napoli 0-1 Arsenal

The Norwegian takes the ball onto his left foot from outside the 18 and scorches the ball toward Milinkovic-Savic’s far post.

The keeper gets his fingers to it but that only serves to push the ball off the inside the post. It rockets around the rest of the goal and Arsenal have a deserved lead.

Looks like our update spurred Arteta into action.

Christos Tzolis and Bruno Guimaraes enter the game for Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino.

0-0, 66'

Luis “Not that Luis Suarez” Suarez has given Sporting Lisbon a 2-1 lead over Galatasaray from the penalty spot.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and Napoli remain deadlocked in Italy. Mikel Arteta’s men are out-attempting Napoli 17-5 and the Spaniard is yet to make a sub.

Another goal for Ferran Torres, who has a hat trick with two of the assists courtesy of Ousmane Dembele.

It’s 5-1 before the hour mark, as Gambia playmaker Suleiman Camara have Yaya Toure’s Slovan Bratislava on the board.

Dembele also has a brace for PSG at home.

Alexis Mac Allister has completed Liverpool’s comeback from 1-0 down as the Reds lead early in the second half against Atletico Madrid.

This was some hit from the edge of the 18.

PSG are up 4-0, as Torres has his second of the game less than three minutes into the second half.

Slovan Bratislava are struggling in the French capital . The visitors are being out-attempted 22-3.

Maghnes Akliouche registers the assist.

Alex Meret almost had to leave during the first half, and the Napoli keeper will not make it out for the second half.

Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, the younger brother of longtime Lazio man Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, takes his place between the posts.

Martin Odegaard cues up Bukayo Saka for a high xG chance before halftime but the Englishman hits his shot over the bar.

Halftime around Europe.

Liverpool 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Napoli 0-0 Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Slovan Bratislava
Sporting Lisbon 1-1 Galatasaray

The Reds make it 1-1 before halftime.

It’s Dominik Szoboszlai who conjures the equalizer.

The Hungarian gets a clever short ball from Ronald Araujo, who is back to goal, and slots home from about 10 yards.

3-0 at the Parc des Princes, as Ferran Torres joins Dembele’s brace on the score sheet.

Of course, it’s Dembele who sets up Torres’ marker.

Dembele completes a brace for PSG, who lead 2-0 over Slovan Bratislava and are taking a lot of drama out of it within the first half hour.

The tension is there in Portugal, where Mozambique winger Geny Catamo has brought Sporting Lisbon level with Galatasaray.

Andoni Iraola will wonder where his midfield went in the build-up and how his defenders failed him.

Great pass from Alvarez and fine work from Llorente but woof.

The reigning champs are ahead through Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

The former Dortmund star delights the home crowd and sinks Slovan Bratislava’s hopes as he is denied on an initial chance but cashed in when Nuno Mendes snaps a shot off the post and onto a plate for Dembe.e

The first goal of Andoni Iraola’s Champions League tenure at Liverpool goes to the visitors.

Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez sends a through ball to Marcos Llorente, who beats Milos Kerkez and then Alisson.

1-0, 17'.

The ex-Man City man slices a shot between Gabriel Magalhaes and Ezri Konsa.

David Raya can’t hold onto it and Ben White has to rescue the loose ball.

It had been a heavy Arsenal performance but now Napoli’s Matteo Politano rips a shot toward Raya from distance.

0-0, 15'.

While Arsenal await their first goal of this UCL season, a former Gunner is on the board.

Lucas Torreira has put Galatasaray up 1-0 over Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Portugal.

Barca win 5-1 over Feyenoord.

Stuttgart rides their first half to a 3-1 win over Viking.

The new bargain transfer from Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus, has been in the game for less than three minutes when he nods a Yamal cross home for the Blaugranas’ fifth goal of the game.

Feyenoord finally get a goal that will stand the test of review, as substitute Sam Steijn knocks in a back post cross from fellow sub Goncalo Borges.

4-1 Barca in the 82nd minute.

The teenager goes through the wall to make it 4-0.

He’s set up just inside of the arc on the right side, and the ball sails like an arrow inside the near post.

Nacho Ferri sees a goal denied for a second time in under 10 minutes, this one after VAR review for offside.

So, yes, 3-0 again to Barca.

Nacho Ferri was the offside man who made it 2-1... but this one stay on the board.

Feyenoord pull one back for real this time.

Barca’s lead has been trimmed to 3-1 in the 59th minute.

Feyenoord are offside when the ball goes in to make it 2-1, and Barca soon answers to more or less put this to bed.

It’s Pedri on the assist and Raphinha on the goal, as Barca go up 3-0 in the 57th minute.

Julian Alvarez has only played 55 minutes for Atleti this season but Diego Simeone is starting the Argentine against Liverpool. American midfielder Johnny Cardoso is amongst the subs.

Atletico XI: Oblak, Llorente, Nancho, Pubill, Romero, Koke, Barrios, Baena, Lee, G. Simeone, Alvarez

Arteta’s team has some surprises, as Bruno Guimaraes is again not in the Starting XI — his omission from the weekend’s action not an act of saving him for Naples.

Mikel Merino, instead, partners with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the midfield.

Bukayo Saka starts on the right wing but Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres draw starts.

The back line is familiar as Ben White, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Piero Hincapie start in front of David Raya.

Bradley Barcola will start the game for Liverpool. Here’s their XI.

Alisson
Araujo
Van Dijk
Jacquet
Kerkez
Mac Allister
Szoboszlai
Wirtz
Ngumoha
Barcola
Isak

Thrill-a-minute (almost) stuff in Germany, where Bosnian striker Ermedin Demirovic has scored a 12-minute hat trick.

This isn’t simply a goal-splosion of dominance, as Viking winger Zlatko Tripic had the game 1-1 within two minutes of Demirovic’s opener.

It’s now 3-1 to Stuttgart in the 40th minute.

Former Dortmund man Karim Adeyemi has Barca up 2-0.

Joao Cancelo gets the assist but this is about a wonderful bit of technique for Adeyemi’s strike.

Barca are cruising with about 75% of the ball.

Two Ballon d’Or finalists combine for an early goal, but Raphinha is the headline man here.

The Brazilian takes a clever knockdown pass from Lamine Yamal and cuts past two sliding defenders before slotting home.

Aesthetically pleasing!

Stuttgart XI: Bredlow, Jeltsch, Chabot, Promel, Chabot, Stiller, Mittelstadt, Fuhrich, El Khannouss, Demiroci, Undav

Viking FK XI: Ostbo, Haugen, Daland, Stensness, Heggheim, Asklidsen, Bell, Moi, Tripic, Christiansen, Bjordal

Barcelona XI: J. Garcia, Cancelo, Cubarsi, Christensen, Kounde, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha, Adeyemi.

Feyenoord XI: Ernst, Read, Watanabe, St. Juste, Marmol, Vanhoutte, Valente, Zechiel, Hadj Moussa, Ferri, J. Lopez

Andoni Iraola will experience the Champions League at home with Liverpool. Each of those experiences would be eye-opening for a manager, and he gets them all at once.

“The way I look at it is simple – this is a tradition and an experience that we have to embrace,” Iraola wrote in his matchday program notes. “It is not something that we can just expect to happen. Maybe there are elements that we can take for granted; the darkness, the floodlights, the time of day and so on. But the rest has to be created on the night itself – by people and by passion.

“This is our responsibility. We know what the legacy of this club is and we know the impact it can have, so we have to use this knowledge to inspire us.”

Read from Liverpool’s site, here.

Mikel Arteta brought Arsenal to the precipice of a first European Cup and he’s confident the Gunners have what it takes to have another great campaign.

Why?

“The consistency in the performances that we put in and the fact that we have been really dominant even when we play at home,” he said. “With our identity, with what we want to achieve in games, believing and being convinced that we can do it.”

Read more here.

As for Barcelona’s opposition, Feyernood have yet to lose in Eredivisie play. Surprisingly, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team has won thrice away from home while drawing twice at De Kuip.

Maybe they can bring that away day magic to the Camp Nou? Giant shoulder shrug emoji.

The other early game has Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart hoping to dodge an upset bid from Viking FK and their unusual set-up of two head coaches.

Stuttgart have former Hoffenheim boss Sebastian Hoeness at the wheel, and imports Bilal El Khannouss (Morocco) and Ermedin Demirovic (BNH) join German stars Denis Undav and Angelo Stiller as key components.

Barcelona have not played in the UEFA Champions League Final since Lionel Messi left the club, last reaching the final and winning it in 2015 with a 3-1 defeat of Gianluigi Buffon’s Juventus.

They’re considered one of the favorites if not the best option to dethrone old pal Luis Enrique — the boss for that 2015 triumph — and PSG.

A European Cup win would be Hansi Flick’s second after beating PSG to the top prize in 2019-20.

Barca are flying right now, 4-0-0 in La Liga with just two goals conceded amongst three clean sheets and a gaudy 4+ goals per match. It hasn’t been a tough fixture list, but Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, and Lamine Yamal are three of just six players with four or more goals this young season.

The UEFA Champions League is streamed on Paramount+ and VIX.

Stuttgart vs Viking’s early kickoff and Sporting Lisbon vs Galatasaray at 3pm ET have been selected for broadcast on CBS Sports Network in the USA.

Barcelona vs Feyenoord and Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid will air on TUDN en Espanol.

Wednesday 9 September 2026
Barcelona vs Feyenoord — 12:45pm ET
Stuttgart vs Viking —12:45pm ET
Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid — 3pm ET
Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava — 3pm ET
Sporting Lisbon vs Galatasaray — 3pm ET
Napoli vs Arsenal — 3pm ET

Tuesday 8 September 2026
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