Mbappe, Haaland, Yamal lead a record-breaking Champions League Matchday 1
The UEFA Champions League returned with a bang as Matchday 1 of the 2026-27 season delivered emphatic victories, record-breaking performances and plenty of early statements from Europe’s biggest clubs.
Paris Saint-Germain immediately laid down the biggest marker, smashing six past Slovan Bratislava to charge to the top of the table. Bayern Munich were not far behind, eventually turning a stubborn Bodø/Glimt side into victims of a 5-0 rout, while Barcelona also flexed their attacking muscle by putting five past Feyenoord.
Liverpool had to dig deeper, but their 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid showed the kind of resilience champions need. Manchester United enjoyed a far more comfortable night, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Sabah, while Manchester City began their campaign with a 2-0 win away to Porto.
Then there was Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants got the job done against Inter Milan, but their 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu came with more questions than answers. Inter enjoyed plenty of possession and created enough pressure to make Madrid sweat, only for the hosts to survive once again. With Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior capable of changing a game in seconds and Thibaut Courtois standing behind them, Real remain a team nobody will want to meet in the knockout rounds.
Arsenal also left it late, Martin Odegaard breaking Napoli's resistance with the only goal of a tense 1-0 victory. It was hardly spectacular, but three points are three points in a league phase where every result could prove crucial when the top eight places are decided.
But just when it seemed the established giants had taken control of the headlines, Como arrived and blew the door off its hinges.
The Italian debutants saved their biggest statement for last, hammering RB Leipzig 4-1 in front of a rocking crowd at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia..
But beyond the results, Matchweek 1 produced a remarkable collection of individual milestones.
Mbappe joins an elite Champions League club
Kylian Mbappe continued his march up the all-time Champions League scoring charts, moving level with Raul on 71 goals and into fifth place.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (129), Robert Lewandowski (109) and Karim Benzema (90) remain ahead of him.
Haaland's extraordinary record continues
Erling Haaland's numbers are becoming increasingly difficult to comprehend.
The Manchester City striker now has 59 goals in 59 Champions League appearances, giving him the best goals-per-game ratio in competition history among players with at least 20 appearances.
His latest goal also took him to 36 Champions League goals for Manchester City, drawing him level with Sergio Agüero as the club's all-time leading scorer in the competition.
Kane is rewriting Bayern's record book
Harry Kane extended his remarkable scoring streak to eight consecutive Champions League matches, scoring 10 goals during that run.
He is now just one game away from matching Bayern Munich's club record of nine consecutive Champions League matches with a goal, set by Robert Lewandowski.
Kane has also been directly involved in 31 Champions League goals over the past three seasons — 26 goals and five assists — more than any other player during that period.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Yamal keeps breaking records
Lamine Yamal added another remarkable chapter to his already extraordinary career.
At just 19 years and 58 days, the Barcelona star became the youngest player in club history to reach 100 goal contributions, surpassing Lionel Messi's previous mark. Yamal now has 101 for Barcelona, consisting of 54 goals and 47 assists.
He is also closing in on Kylian Mbappé's record for Champions League goals by a teenager. Yamal has 12, just one behind Mbappé's 13.
However, he has already surpassed Mbappé's teenage record for Champions League goal contributions, reaching 22.
Barcelona's attack is firing
Barcelona have scored 22 goals in their first five matches of the season — their fourth-highest scoring start ever and their best since the 1950-51 campaign.
Raphinha has contributed to that explosive start by scoring in each of Barcelona's first five games, becoming the club's first player in the 21st century to achieve the feat.
Torres on fire for PSG
Ferran Torres also made history with a hat trick, becoming the ninth Spanish player to score three or more goals in a Champions League match.
His treble took his competition tally to 21 goals, moving him into fifth place among Spanish scorers in European Cup/Champions League history.
Bayern reach another landmark
Bayern Munich became only the second club in Champions League history to score 900 goals, joining Real Madrid.
Real Madrid lead the all-time scoring chart with 1,139 goals, followed by Bayern with 904 and Barcelona with 767.
Olise is having a sensational year
Michael Olise's incredible 2026 continued as the Bayern winger reached 34 goal contributions in all competitions — 17 goals and 17 assists.
Only his teammate Harry Kane, with 39 goal contributions, has produced more among players from Europe's top five leagues.
Olise has also recorded four Champions League games with at least three goal contributions, matching Barcelona's Raphinha for the most such performances since his competition debut in September 2024.
Manchester United's new stars make their mark
Bruno Fernandes continues to be one of Europe's most productive midfielders. Since joining Manchester United in 2020, he has recorded 23 goals and 21 assists in European competitions, giving him more combined goals and assists than any other midfielder during that period.
Matheus Cunha also opened his Champions League account, becoming only the fourth Brazilian to score for Manchester United in the competition after Anderson, Alex Telles and Casemiro.
Patrick Dorgu meanwhile became United's youngest player to provide an assist on his Champions League debut since an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney in 2004.
Arsenal's defence delivers again
Arsenal may not have produced the biggest scoreline, but their 1-0 victory over Napoli came with some impressive numbers.
David Raya has now kept a clean sheet in 54% of his Champions League starts (20 of 37) — the highest percentage of any goalkeeper in competition history with at least 25 starts.
Arsenal also registered 26 shots and 4.05 expected goals, both their highest totals in a Champions League match since the 2010-11 season.
The opening week produced plenty more history:
Thibaut Courtois made his 100th Champions League appearance, becoming the 56th player to reach the milestone.
PSG extended their unbeaten Champions League run to 11 matches, moving within two of their club record.
Vinícius Júnior made nine recoveries against Inter — the most in a Champions League match of his career.
Sabah became the first Champions League team to start a match with 11 players of different nationalities.
Como became only the second Serie A club to score four or more goals in its European Cup/Champions League debut.
Nico Paz became the youngest Argentine to assist two or more goals in a Champions League match since Lionel Messi in 2008.
Ricardo Pepi has now been involved in nine Champions League goals, averaging a goal or assist every 49 minutes among players with at least 250 minutes in the competition.
Ermedin Demirović scored the fifth-fastest Champions League hat trick in history, completing it in just 31 minutes and 21 seconds.
Zion Suzuki became the first Japanese goalkeeper to play in the Champions League.
John McGinn became Aston Villa's all-time leading scorer in major European competitions with 12 goals.
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