Matchday 2 of the 2026-27 Champions League league phase has 18 games across two nights, led by Manchester City against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and Atlético Madrid against Manchester United on Tuesday.
When and Where to Watch
Tuesday’s games, on 13 October, are Lens v Sporting CP and Sabah v Slavia Praha at 18:45 CEST (22:15 IST), then seven matches at 21:00 CEST (00:30 IST on 14 October). Wednesday’s games, on 14 October, follow the same pattern: Feyenoord v Como and LASK v Liverpool at 18:45 CEST, then seven at 21:00 CEST, as per UEFA.
How Matchday 1 Set the Scene
Matchday 1 was played on 8–10 September and produced 69 goals in 18 games, an average of about 3.8 per match, by my own count from the UEFA results. Two matches were draws, and in 14 of the 16 decided games the winner scored at least twice, and the biggest score was PSG’s 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava. Barcelona’s 5-1 against Feyenoord and Bayern’s 5-0 against Bodø/Glimt were the other heavy wins.
That leaves a crowded table. With 16 teams level on three points, matchday 2 will quickly separate the sides who can win twice from those who started on a high. Teams that lost in the opening round, such as Inter, Galatasaray, Atlético and Villarreal, face early pressure.
Tuesday’s Headline Games
Atlético Madrid v Manchester United. The two sides arrive from very different openers. Atlético went down 2-1 at Liverpool on matchday 1, while United beat Sabah 4-0, with goals from Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Šeško and Lisandro Martínez. United sit fourth after one round on three points, and a trip to Madrid is a much sterner test than Sabah.
Galatasaray v Barcelona. Barcelona opened with a 5-1 win over Feyenoord, while Galatasaray lost 3-1 at Sporting CP, so the Turkish side start the night on zero points against a team full of momentum.
Viking v Bayern München. Bayern beat Bodø/Glimt 5-0 with goals from Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies and a Michael Olise double. Viking lost 3-1 at Stuttgart.
Arsenal v Lille. Arsenal won 1-0 at Napoli on matchday 1. Lille lost 3-2 at home to Real Betis and had Ethan Mbappé sent off.
Inter v Club Brugge. Inter lost 2-1 at Real Madrid, with Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde scoring early for Madrid, so they need a response at home. Brugge lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa.
Villarreal v Napoli and Leipzig v PSV. Villarreal lost a five-goal thriller at Dortmund, 3-2, and Napoli lost 1-0 to Arsenal, so one of them will be chasing a first point. Leipzig were beaten 4-1 at Como, while PSV drew 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Lens v Sporting CP and Sabah v Slavia Praha. Lens won 3-2 at Slavia, with Ruben Aguilar scoring in added time, and meet a Sporting side who beat Galatasaray 3-1. Sabah, beaten 4-0 by United, host a Slavia team that lost 3-2 to Lens after a late comeback, despite Danijel Šturm scoring twice.
Wednesday: City v PSG and the Rest
Manchester City v Paris Saint-Germain. The game of the round is at the Etihad Stadium. City won 2-0 at Porto, with Erling Haaland scoring both goals in the second half, while PSG beat Slovan Bratislava 6-1, the highest score of matchday 1. Both teams are on three points, and the winner will sit near the top of the table.
Roma v Real Madrid. Madrid won 2-1 against Inter on matchday 1, while Roma drew 1-1 with Fenerbahçe after Bryan Cristante gave them the lead. Roma are on one point and need a result at home.
LASK v Liverpool. Liverpool beat Atlético 2-1, and LASK lost 1-0 at AEK Athens to a first-half free-kick from Răzvan Marin.
Aston Villa v Fenerbahçe. Villa won 3-2 at Club Brugge, with goals from John McGinn, Emiliano Buendía and Nicolas Jackson, and host a Fenerbahçe side that drew 1-1 with Roma.
Bodø/Glimt v Borussia Dortmund. Bodø/Glimt lost 5-0 to Bayern and finished with ten men. Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2, with Serhou Guirassy scoring twice.
Real Betis v Porto. Betis won 3-2 at Lille, with Marc Bartra scoring twice, and face a Porto side beaten 2-0 by City.
Feyenoord v Como, Shakhtar v AEK and Slovan v Stuttgart. Como beat Leipzig 4-1 and visit a Feyenoord side that lost 5-1 at Barcelona. Shakhtar (1-1 at PSV) host AEK (1-0 over LASK), and Slovan, thrashed 6-1 in Paris, host a Stuttgart side that won 3-1 against Viking.
Five Storylines to Follow
Haaland against the champions’ style. Haaland is among the tournament’s top scorers with two goals, both against Porto, and PSG’s defence faces him at the Etihad with a 6-1 win in their pocket.
Madrid’s attack. Real Madrid scored twice inside 23 minutes against Inter through Mbappé and Valverde, and will expect the same pace in Rome.
Bayern’s depth. Five different attacking contributions, including Kane, Musiala and Olise’s two goals, made Bayern look like title contenders. Viking will be a very different test.
Como’s rise. The Italian club scored four against Leipzig, with the last goal from Máximo Perrone in the 90th minute, and now face Feyenoord, who conceded five at Barcelona.
United’s first real test. A 4-0 win over Sabah put them fourth, but Atlético, who lost narrowly at Liverpool, will be a tougher assignment.
What to Watch
Sixteen teams share the lead on three points after matchday 1: PSG, Bayern, Barcelona, Manchester United, Como, Sporting, Stuttgart, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Betis, Lens, Dortmund, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Arsenal and AEK. Four teams have one point (Shakhtar, Roma, Fenerbahçe and PSV), and the other 16 have none. Ermedin Demirović and Ferran Torres lead the scorers with three goals each, with Haaland, Bartra and Ousmane Dembélé on two. Expect that to change by Thursday.
