By Samindra Kunti in Paris
September 6 – Kylian Mbappé and PSG pushed past Juventus with a 2-1 win to open their Champions League campaigns, but concerns remain about the Parisians’ defensive set-up if they are to go all the way and win their first European Champions League title.
September 7 – The Champions League kicked off last night with a number of the biggest names in action. And if Football Benchmark are correct, then it will be the biggest names that dominate the competition.
September 6 – Months after Real Madrid completed an improbable run of matches to win a 14th European Cup against Liverpool amid dramatic scenes at the Stade de France, the Champions League returns with the usual suspects eyeing glory in Istanbul next June in what will be the competition’s penultimate season in the current format.
August 26 – If there wasn’t quite a group of death as such, there were certainly some mouth-watering heavyweight clashes when this season’s Champions League group stage draw was made Thursday.
August 25 – The 32-team draw for the lucrative group stage of the Champions League takes place later today in Istanbul – host of this season’s final with all manner of mouthwatering ties in prospect.
By Samindra Kunti
June 22 – European governing body UEFA has doubled down on blaming Liverpool fans over the Stade de France fiasco at the Champions League final in June, but following testimonies from both Liverpool and Real Madrid fans the French senate is considering launching a full investigation into the scenes of dangerous chaos outside the Paris venue.
By Paul Nicholson
June 4 – In stark contrast to the French authorities who refuse to accept any blame for the shameful scenes that occurred before and after the Champions League final in Paris, UEFA has issued an apology to fans and reiterated that it has commissioned an independent review of the incident and that the findings will be published in full.
May 13 – The European Leagues have welcomed the last-minute changes to UEFA’s re-configured Champions League structure that will come into force post 2024 and were approved by UEFA’s executive committee and congress this week.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 11 – Buffeted by criticism from leagues and fans, UEFA has scrapped plans to hand Champions League places to clubs based on past success.
April 13 – Seventh in the Spanish league, Villarreal pulled off a stunning Champions League upset on Tuesday night as they scored a late equaliser to knock out German giants Bayern Munich to reach the semi-finals along with Real Madrid who fortuitously eliminated defending champions Chelsea.
December 13 – There is no question about the match-up of the round following the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League – but it wasn’t the original tie!
November 19 – Two Europe-wide fans groups have teamed up with leagues across the Continent in an effort to protect domestic competition.
November 4 – On a heated night at Anfield with the return of Luis Suarez and old foe Atletico Madrid, Liverpool stormed past the Spanish club 2-0 to join Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich into the last 16 of the Champions League.
June 1 – European governing body UEFA is considering a Final Four format for the Champions League as a way to build a showpiece week of European football and generate more revenues.
May 28 – In the age of super clubs, Chelsea and Manchester City will decide who reigns supreme over Europe on Saturday in an all-English Champions League final that will be played in front of 16,500 fans in Porto, Portugal.