UEFA Champions League (2023/24)

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The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League season will conclude at London's Wembley Stadium.

The highlight of European football's club calendar returns to the London venue for a record eighth time, and the third in the UEFA Champions League era following the 2011 and 2013 finals.

This will be the 69th season of Europe's elite club competition and the 32nd since it was renamed the UEFA Champions League.

Wembley Stadium's history

• Wembley has undergone a massive transformation since it hosted the last old-style European Champion Clubs' Cup final in 1992, but the new stadium has lost none of its prestige. The famous twin towers made way for an iconic arch over the stadium, which was totally rebuilt and is now one of the most modern and breathtaking arenas in the world.

• Boasting a seated capacity of around 90,000, the new Wembley reopened its doors in 2007 and is once again home to the England national side, as well as host to the nation's premier domestic cup finals.

• Known as the 'Home of Football', Wembley has hosted seven European Cup finals – more than any other stadium. AC Milan defeated Benfica 2-1 in Wembley's first European final in 1963 before Manchester United became the competition's first English winners thanks to their 4-1 extra-time triumph against the same Portuguese side in 1968.

In 1971, Ajax beat Panathinaikos 2-0 to lift the trophy for the first time, and there was also a 1-0 win for Liverpool against Club Brugge in 1978. Barcelona then won their first European Cup there in 1992 with a 1-0 extra-time defeat of Sampdoria, and claimed the trophy for the fourth time in 2011 after overcoming Manchester United 3-1. Finally, Bayern beat Dortmund 2-1 in the all-German decider in 2013.

• Wembley Stadium hosted all three of England's Group D games at UEFA EURO 2020, as well as two round of 16 matches, both semi-finals and the final itself, with the hosts only denied their maiden triumph in the competition on penalties against Italy. The outcome was more successful for England at UEFA Women's EURO 2022, as the Lionesses overcame Germany 2-1 after extra time to become European champions for the first time.

• The original Wembley Stadium, known as the Empire Stadium, was built as the centrepiece of a British Empire Exhibition a few years after the First World War, and was first opened in April 1923. It would serve as the focal point of English football until 2000, being demolished in 2003 to make way for the current structure.

• The old Wembley hosted the 1948 Olympic Games and the final of EURO '96 but, from an English perspective, unquestionably its finest hour came on 30 July 1966, when Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick to inspire England to a 4-2 extra-time win against West Germany in the FIFA World Cup final.

When are the 2023/24 Champions League matches?

Matchday 1: 19/20 September 2023
Matchday 2: 3/4 October 2023
Matchday 3: 24/25 October 2023
Matchday 4: 7/8 November 2023
Matchday 5: 28/29 November 2023
Matchday 6: 12/13 December 2023
Round of 16: 13/14/20/21 February and 5/6/12/13 March 2024
Quarter-finals: 9/10 and 16/17 April 2024
Semi-finals: 30 April/1 May and 7/8 May 2024
Final: 1 June 2024

Upcoming Champions League finals

2024: Wembley Stadium, London
2025: Fussball Arena München, Munich

What do the Champions League winners get?

The UEFA Champions League trophy stands 73.5cm tall and weighs 7.5kg. "It may not be an artistic masterpiece, but everybody in football is keen to get their hands on it," said creator Jürg Stadelmann.

The winners will also earn the right to play against the winners of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League in the 2024 UEFA Super Cup.
 
Champions League pots: Who is in the group stage?

Pot 1: MANCHESTER CITY, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord
Pot 2: Real Madrid, MANCHESTER UNITED, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, ARSENAL
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, Salzburg, Milan, Braga, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, FC Copenhagen
Pot 4: Young Boys, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, CELTIC, NEWCASTLE UNITED, Union Berlin, Royal Antwerp, RC Lens
 
Lens are next out and they can only go into Group B.

They join Sevilla, Arsenal and PSV

Decent group for Arsenal
 

UEFA Champions League group stage draw​


b4vCJnE.png
 
Group of death for Newcastle

Eddie Howe's Newcastle are in Group F.

That means they will face PSG, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan on their return to Europe!
 
Good draws for Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal.

Newcastle ouch! Group of death that one.
 
Welcome back Newcastle :afridi

My predictions for 1st and 2nd in each:

A - Bayern, Man United
B - Arsenal, Sevilla
C - Real Madrid, Napoli
D - Inter Milan, Benfica
E - Atletico Madrid, Lazio
F - AC Milan, PSG
G - Man City, Leipzig
H - Barcelona, Porto
 
Newcastle will struggle.

Utd wont have it easy away in Turkey.

Easy draw for Arsenal, anything less than finishing top will be poor.

City, Madrid and Bayern favourites to take the trophy imo.
 
Champions League back this week. One match you're really looking for on match day 1?
 
New Castle United vs Milan - GROUP F

New Castle United Starting XI: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Guimaraes, Longstaff, Tonali; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.

Milan Starting XI: Maignan, Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Krunic, Loftus-Cheek, Pobega; Chukwueze, Giroud, Leao.

Young Boys vs RB Leipzig - GROUP G

Young Boys Starting XI: Anthony Racioppi, Saidy Janko, Aurele Amenda, Mohamed Aly Camara, Loris Benito, Cheikh Niasse, Sandro Lauper, Ulisses Garcia, Filip Ugrinic, Meschak Elia, Cédric Itten

RB Leipzig Starting XI: Janis Blaswich, Benjamin Henrichs, Mohamed Simakan, Castello Lukeba, David Raum, Xavi Simons, Kevin Kampl, Xaver Schlager, Emil Forsberg, Lois Openda, Yussuf Poulsen
 
Kylian Mbappe provided the breakthrough for Paris St-Germain as they opened their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Mbappe scored from the penalty spot on 49 minutes after his shot was handled by Nicklas Sule.

PSG doubled their lead when Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi combined well with midfielder Vitinha.

The French side are in Group F with Newcastle and AC Milan.

PSG had the bulk of possession and chances but were frustrated for long periods by Dortmund, especially in the first half.
 
HALF TIME SCORES OF EARLY KICK-OFFS:

Real Madrid 0-0 Union Berlin
Galatasaray 0-1 Copenhagen
 
Bayern Munich 3-1 Manchester United

Kane with a goal tonight
 

Bayern Munich 4-2 Manchester United​

Mathys Tel with Bayern 4th
 
Bayern 4 -2 Utd

Utd got 2 but this was a battering.

The last time Utd lost 3 matches in a row...Good ol Ole was at the wheel. :ROFLMAO:
 

Bayern Munich 4-3 Manchester United​

Casemiro
 
Yeah they are awful at moment

Burnley away on Sat evening will be tough for them too.

Utd should still get through in this group as they are expected to beat the other two teams but I wouldnt put money on it.

Arsenal looked clinical, a good strong win at home first match always sets you up well for the rest of the group matches.

Real Madrid scarpped a 1-0 win.

City are strong strong favs to regain their title but if some miracle happens and they are knocked out in next stage, its anyones cup this year. Real shame LFC arent in, id fancy us to beat anyone in this comp.
 
Harry Kane scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern Munich as they beat a depleted Manchester United 4-3 in their Group A opener, with three goals in the final six minutes.

The build-up to a famous European tie had focused on Kane's past transfer links to Man Utd, although the England captain maintained Bayern was always the right destination for him after leaving Tottenham.

But there was still a sliver of irony as he dispatched from the penalty spot for his first Champions League goal for the German side, given after a chaotic and controversial VAR review for a Christian Eriksen handball.

It came shortly after Rasmus Hojlund's first Manchester United goal (49), which was taken well by the 20-year-old on his own European debut for his new club.

The game looked to be heading towards a comfortable 3-1 win for Bayern, but a topsy turvy final six minutes showed Man Utd have some fight left in them yet. Casemiro (88, 90+5) scored twice, either side of a Mathys Tel fourth for the hosts.

The signs of life will be welcome after - as has often been the case this season - Man Utd created their own problems in defence in the first half. They have now conceded two or more goals in five consecutive matches for the first time since 2001.

It was an Andre Onana howler that saw Leroy Sane (28) open for Bayern, before a fine Serge Gnabry (32) finish doubled the hosts' lead.

The Bundesliga champions go top of Group A after Galatasaray and Copenhagen drew 2-2 earlier on Wednesday. Man Utd sit bottom of the group after one game.

 

Union Berlin vs Braga Starting XIs​


Union starting XI​

Rønnow - Doekhi, Bonucci, Leite - Král - Juranović, Tousart, Haberer, Gosens - Becker (c), Behrens

Braga starting XI​

Matheus - Mendes, Saatçı, Niakaté, Borja - Zalazar, Horta (c), Al-Musrati, - Bruma, Banza, Djaló
 

RB Salzburg vs Real Sociedad Starting XIs​


RB Salzburg starting XI:​

A. Schlager
Dedic
Solet
Terzić
Kjærgaard
Bidstrup
Konaté
Solet
Šimić
Gourna-Douath
Gloukh

Real Sociedad starting XI:​

Remiro
Muñoz
Zubimendi
Zubeldia
Barrenetxe
Merino
Oyarzabal
Kubo
Traoré
Méndez
Le Normand
 
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Man utd 1 1 galatasary

Zaha with equaliser 🤣🤭
 
What a goal by Bellingham vs napoli, this kid is elite level
 
Manchester United's woeful season lurched from one damaging loss to another as Galatasaray took advantage of some calamitous defending to clinch a 3-2 comeback Champions League win at Old Trafford.

Elye Wahi starred as French side Lens came from behind to shock Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions League.

Jude Bellingham further enhanced his status as Real Madrid's star player, scoring and assisting as they beat Italian champions Napoli 3-2 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the Champions League.

Andre Castro scored in stoppage time to deliver a dramatic 3-2 comeback win for 10-man Braga at Union Berlin in the Champions League.
 
HALF TIME SCORES OF EARLY KICKOFFS:

Antwerp 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Feyenoord
 
Newcastle's biggest night in modern history, hosting PSG. Should be a good game, tough to predict.
 
What a start by Newcastle. They're on fire. 2-0 up.
 
Newcastle United welcomed Champions League football back to St James' Park in style as Paris St-Germain were overpowered 4-1 in a highly charged atmosphere on Tyneside.

Substitutes Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku scored late goals as Manchester City recovered from back-to-back defeats to beat Leipzig 3-1 in the Champions League.

Barcelona made it two wins from two in this season's Champions League as Ferran Torres' goal secured a 1-0 victory at Porto.

Celtic endured late heartbreak as Pedro's 95th-minute winner consigned the defending Scottish champions to another Champions League defeat.
 
Harry Kane scored and assisted to help Bayern Munich claim a 3-1 victory at Galatasaray in the Champions League.

Andre Onana saved a penalty in added time to give Manchester United a priceless 1-0 Champions League victory against Copenhagen.

Gabriel Jesus scored a goal and grabbed an assist to help Arsenal get back to winning ways in the Champions League with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla.

Jude Bellingham continued his brilliant start to the season with another goal to help Real Madrid claim a narrow 2-1 Champions League win at Braga.

Alexis Sanchez scored his first goal since returning to Inter Milan as his side edged past Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 in Group D in the Champions League.
 
Newcastle United suffered the first defeat of their Champions League campaign as Borussia Dortmund secured a vital 1-0 victory on a rain-soaked night at St James' Park.

Kylian Mbappe was on target as Paris St-Germain went top of Group F with a clinical 3-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says his "terrific" side will receive an injection of belief after gaining their first Champions League point of the season in a ferocious 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid.

Manchester City maintained their perfect Champions League record with a hard-fought 3-1 win at Young Boys.

Barcelona's Ferran Torres scored one goal and assisted another as his side held off Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to maintain their perfect Group H record in the Champions League.
 
Portugal defender Pepe became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history as his late header helped Porto beat Royal Antwerp in Group H.


Champions League's oldest scorers

Pepe (FC Porto) v Royal Antwerp, 7 November 2023 - 40 years and 254 days

Francesco Totti (Roma) v CSKA Moskva, 25 November 2014 - 38 years 59 days

Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) v Benfica, 14 September 2011 - 37 years 290 days

Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan) v Real Madrid, 3 November 2010 - 37 years 87 days

Javier Zanetti (Inter) v Tottenham Hotspur, 20 November 2010 - 37 years 72 days

Luka Modric (Real Madrid) v Celtic, 2 November 2022 - 37 years 54 days

Edin Dzeko (Inter) v AC Milan, 10 May 2023 - 37 years 54 days

Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) v Paris St-Germain, 07 November 2023 - 37 years 38 days
 
Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata both scored twice as 10-man Celtic suffered a bruising 6-0 loss at Atletico Madrid to remain rooted to the bottom of Champions League Group E.

Newcastle's hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League were dented as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

Olivier Giroud's thumping header secured AC Milan's first Champions League win of the season as the Italian side beat Paris St-Germain 2-1 in Group F.

Erling Haaland took his Champions League goal tally to 39 in 34 games as Manchester City cruised into the last 16 with two games to spare by barely breaking sweat against Young Boys.

Barcelona missed out on becoming the first side to reach the Champions League knockout stages as they were stunned 1-0 by Shakhtar Donetsk.

Portugal defender Pepe became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history as his late header helped Porto beat Royal Antwerp 2-0 in Group H.
 
Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich beat Galatasaray 2-1 to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

Manchester United's faltering season suffered another significant blow as Marcus Rashford's red card contributed to a dramatic, qualification-damaging 4-3 Champions League defeat by FC Copenhagen.

Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka scored as Arsenal claimed a comfortable 2-0 Champions League victory over lacklustre Sevilla.

Real Madrid cruised past Sporting Braga 3-0 at the Bernabeu to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
 
Champions League: Man City host RB Leipzig aiming to seal top spot in Group G.

City unveil Summerbee, Lee and Bell statue.

Newcastle must avoid defeat at Paris St-Germain to keep alive last-16 hopes.
 
Early Kick-off Results (28-11-2023)

Lazio 2-0 Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 Antwerp
 
Absolutely disgusting to award a penalty to PSG . Chest to elbow no handball

Feel sorry for newscastle , a historic moment ruined by var & ref .
 
Absolutely disgusting to award a penalty to PSG . Chest to elbow no handball

Feel sorry for newscastle , a historic moment ruined by var & ref .
Such a crazy decision, I don't understand how it was given, the officials literally went against the law/guidance for handballs

Gutted to concede in that manner but still proud of effort from the team, which is stretched so thin which meant we couldn't even make any subs really

The disappointment is that it is no longer in our own hands, we now need Dortmund to do us a favour, they are already through so they will probably rest bodies but getting to the Europa League is at least in our hands

In the toughest group and we are still in it heading in to gameweek 6, which I'll absolutely take
 
Such a crazy decision, I don't understand how it was given, the officials literally went against the law/guidance for handballs

Gutted to concede in that manner but still proud of effort from the team, which is stretched so thin which meant we couldn't even make any subs really

The disappointment is that it is no longer in our own hands, we now need Dortmund to do us a favour, they are already through so they will probably rest bodies but getting to the Europa League is at least in our hands

In the toughest group and we are still in it heading in to gameweek 6, which I'll absolutely take

You may have take this position at the start but the yesterdays performance deserved more. Newcastle were very well organised, showed great concentration and determination. Playing like this is often harder than attacking, not to mention your keeper making some astonishing saves.

When we played as kids in the park, the rule was ball to hand was no handball. If this was outside the box, there wouldnt be a free kick. I think once the VAR called the ref to take a look, he bottled it due to the crowd and pressure put on by the PSG players.

Dortmund might be PSG but more likely PSG will beat them ,as you point out they are already through.
 
Pity that psg who claim themselves to be ucl contender couldn't even defeat Newcastle at home. But still today ppl cherished the opportunity to saw contest between two arab owned football clubs.
 
You may have take this position at the start but the yesterdays performance deserved more. Newcastle were very well organised, showed great concentration and determination. Playing like this is often harder than attacking, not to mention your keeper making some astonishing saves.

When we played as kids in the park, the rule was ball to hand was no handball. If this was outside the box, there wouldnt be a free kick. I think once the VAR called the ref to take a look, he bottled it due to the crowd and pressure put on by the PSG players.

Dortmund might be PSG but more likely PSG will beat them ,as you point out they are already through.

They've made an absolute mess of the handball law, it's became a farce but this isn't anything new, been like this for a while

Handball is what Suarez did in the World Cup or what Steven Taylor did when he pretended to be shot, that's handball, not a player kicking a ball at someone from a few yards

The one thing that gives me some hope is that Dortmund will want to top the group to avoid having to face someone like City/Real etc in Round 16

Also, if you are Dortmund surely you prefer Newcastle to go through because if by some chance we meet later in the competition then they'd fancy their chances as they have had our number in this group

I guess ultimately we just need to focus on trying to win and then we'll see what happens
 
Team News - Havertz starts, Raya returns in goal
Arsenal v Lens (20.00 GMT)

Mikel Arteta makes two changes to the Arsenal starting XI from Saturday's win at Brentford, with Kai Havertz - who scored the only goal in that game - rewarded with a start.

Havertz replaces Leandro Trossard, while David Raya returns in goal with Aaron Ramsdale dropping back to the bench.

Arsenal XI: Raya; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Subs: Ramsdale, Hein, Nketiah, White, Kiwior, Cedric, Trossard, Jorginho, Nelson, Elneny, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri

Lens XI: Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Samed, Mendy, Haidara; Sotoca, Fulgini; Wahl

Subs: Leca, Pandor, Aguilar, Machado, Da Costa, Diouf, Maouassa, Said, El Aynaoui, Khusanov, Thomasson
 
That was officially the funniest game I have ever watched, I'd have had a hattrick here :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Man Utd :ROFLMAO:

I think they are out of the CL now. I also think they could end up bottom but I hope they are 3rd so LFC can play them in the Europa league.
 
Early Kick-off Results (29-11-2023)

Galatasaray 3-3 Manchester United
Sevilla 2-3 PSV
 
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Manchester United's Champions League hopes suffered another setback as a horror show from goalkeeper Andre Onana allowed Galatasaray to earn a draw in a classic match in Istanbul.

Erik ten Hag's side did so much right and twice held a two-goal lead but errors from Onana threw Galatasaray lifelines to leave United bottom of Group A with their hopes of reaching the knockout phase in the balance before their final game at home to Bayern Munich.

If Copenhagen beat Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena later on Wednesday, Manchester United will be knocked out of the competition with a game to spare, although they could still qualify for the Europa League.

United, as they did in their last Champions League game in Copenhagen, were in a commanding position early on after superb strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes inside the first 18 minutes.

Onana's poor attempt to stop Hakim Ziyech's free-kick got Galatasaray back in the game before half-time but United looked to have gained control again in what was a hostile atmosphere when Scott McTominay turned in Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross 10 minutes after the break to make it 3-1.

However Ziyech was gifted a second goal from another free-kick after an even more stark blunder from Onana, who made a hapless attempt to keep the ball out, before Galatasaray substitute Kerem Akturkoglu's explosive finish brought them level with 19 minutes left.

In a dramatic end-to-end finale, Wilfried Zaha missed a glorious chance for Galatasaray and Fernandes struck the upright as United's Champions League destiny was taken out of their own hands.

Man Utd left to lament Onana blunders
United saw history repeat itself - and not in a good way - as they were left to regret squandering yet another strong Champions League position to leave their hopes of reaching the last 16 in serious jeopardy.

They ended up losing 4-3 in Denmark after scoring two early goals to assume control against Copenhagen. This time the finger of blame is directed at goalkeeper Onana, who understandably looked disconsolate as the final whistle sounded on a stormy night on the pitch and overhead in Istanbul.

United were looking composed with those early goals from Garnacho - with another spectacular finish to add to his moment of genius at Everton - and Fernandes, before Onana got his positioning hopelessly wrong to allow Ziyech's routine free-kick to slide in after 29 minutes.

So much of United's work on the night was good though, and they responded well when McTominay slid in their third.

Only Onana will know what he was doing with his attempt to keep out another Ziyech free-kick just after the hour mark, the keeper merely helping his straightforward delivery into the net, to give Galatasaray the impetus for Akturkoglu's blistering equaliser.

In a chaotic and highly entertaining conclusion, both sides streamed forward in search of the winner that could have proved vital and it was incredible there was not another goal given the number of opportunities.

Instead, United were again left to regret their failure to see out a game they were in command of, with another poor display from the goalkeeper they signed from Inter Milan principally at fault.

Source: BBC
 
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Sergio Ramos scored the 10,000th goal in the Champions League as Sevilla named the oldest starting 11 in the history of the competition in a 3-2 defeat against PSV Eindhoven.

Ramos, who has netted 16 times in the competition, brought up the 10,000th goal milestone when heading in Ivan Rakitic's cross at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Former Everton forward Daniel Amokachi scored the first goal in the Champions League in 1992, for Club Bruges.

Ramos' first Champions League league goal came in December 2005 for Real Madrid, 6,773 days ago. It is the longest gap between a players' first and most recent goal in the competition.

The 37-year-old is the fourth oldest scorer in the Champions League with former Real Madrid centre-back partner Pepe, 40, at the top of the list.

Sevilla boss Diego Alonso named the oldest starting line-up in Champions League history with an average age of 32 years and 19 days, beating the record of 31 years and 331 days set by Inter Milan in February 2012.

The La Liga outfit looked on track for victory, which would have guaranteed Arsenal's place in the last-16, after Youssef En Nesyri added to Ramos' effort.

But Ismael Saibari's strike and a Nemanja Gudelj own goal made it 2-2 with nine minutes left.

USA forward Ricardo Pepi then sealed PSV's comeback win when he scored in the second minute of injury time.

Source: BBC
 
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