Football Tracker: Atletico edge Leipzig at the death, Barcelona lose as Arsenal draw
Thursday, September 19th
22:57 CET - That’s full-time in the late games and that brings an end to the first week of the new Champions League campaign. Below you can see the day’s results:
Atletico Madrid 2-1 RB Leipzig
Feyenoord 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen
See all the week’s results and the standings here.
22:50 CET - It looks like Atletico have scored a later winner against Leipzig. Jose Maria Gimenez has made it 2-1 in the 90th minute! Scenes!
22:47 CET - Entering the final minutes across the matches, Arsenal and Atalanta are still searching for a goal, Atleti and Leipzig are level too.
22:31 CET- Monaco are back ahead against 10-man Barcelona after George Ilenikhena put the ball in the net. It's now 2-1 at Stade Louis II.
22:27 CET - Just 20 minutes or so to go in the late games and Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico are all still locked in stalements. Brest are leading Sturm Graz 2-1.
22:15 CET - Brest have reclaimed their lead over Sturm Graz! Brighton loanee Abdallah Sima makes it 2-1 for the competition newcomers.
22:09 CET - We are back underway around the grounds and within minutes of restarting Atalanta were awarded a penalty against Arsenal. After a lengthy VAR check, Mateo Retegui missed his spot kick. David Raya followed up his save with a brilliant second block!
21:49 CET - Rounding up the half-time scores, Champions League first-timers Brest conceded to Sturm Graz just before the break, it's 1-1 in Brittany, while Monaco and 10-man Barcelona are level at 1-1 as well.
Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig are also stuck at 1-1 while Arsenal and Atalanta are still goalless in Bergamo. Four stalemates at the interval and all to play for then!
21:29 CET - Two goals to report - both LaLiga clubs, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, have scored to level up their games at 1-1. Lamine Yamal got 10-man Barca back on terms with Moncao while Antoine Griezmann scored for Atleti against Leipzig.
21:23 CET - The other Ligue 1 side in action tonight, Brest, have now also scored! The Breton side lead Sturm Graz 1-0 thanks to Hugo Magnetti's strike. That is the club's first-ever Champions League goal!
21:17 CET - Moving over to Monaco, the Principality side have gone ahead (1-0) against Barcelona thanks to a goal from Maghnes Akliouche. About five minutes earlier, Barcelona were reduced to 10 men with Eric Garcia sent off!
21:05 CET - Benjamin Sesko (21) has scored for Leipzig just four minutes in to give his side the lead at Atletico Madrid!
21:01 CET - And we are underway in the final games of the Matchday!
20:40 CET - It was a nervy final few minutes, but Benfica have hung on to claim a 2-1 victory against Red Star Belgrade.
20:35 CET - After a four-goal first half, Bayer Leverkusen coasted in the second half, settling for a commanding 4-0 win at Feyenoord to get their Champions League campaign underway.
20:31 CET - With five minutes to go in Belgrade, Red Star have grabbed a goal and now trail 2-1. Can they find a late equaliser?
20:20 CET - Atletico Madrid begin their Champions League campaign against Leipzig, and Diego Simeone has made a number of changes:
20:15 CET - Here are the line-ups for Barcelona's contest with Monaco:
20:02 CET - The line-ups are out ahead of the games which start in an hour, with Atalanta facing Arsenal in arguably the match of the night.
19:32 CET - What a half from Bayer Leverkusen! The German side made it 4-0 on the stroke of half-time and Feyenoord are on their way to a serious thrashing at the break.
It's half-time in Belgrade too, where Benfica lead Red Star 2-0.
19:22 CET - Leverkusen are flying! Wirtz has bagged his second goal of the game and his side's third in what is becoming a rout in Rotterdam.
19:16 CET - Both Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen have doubled their leads on the half-an-hour mark, with Orkun Kokcu scoring a stunning free-kick for the former and Alex Grimaldo tapping in for the latter. It's a good evening for the favourites thus far.
18:56 CET - Benfica lead! They've gone 1-0 up in Belgrade courtesy of Kerem Akturkoglu.
18:51 CET - We have the first goal of the night already and it's been scored by Florian Wirtz! The German has given Bayer Leverkusen the lead against Feyenoord after the hosts gave the ball away deep in their own half.
18:48 CET - Tonight's early kick-offs are underway! You can minute-by-minute coverage of them at the links below.
18:35 CET - New Benfica manager Bruno Lage will be aiming to make it two wins from two at the start of his second spell in charge of the club - these are the starting XIs for the Portuguese giants and Red Star.
18:20 CET - German champions Bayer Leverkusen are tonight playing their first Champions League match in just under two years, and here's how they and opponents Feyenoord are lining up for the clash in Rotterdam.
17:30 CET - Champions League football on Thursdays is certainly a rare thing, but for this week only, there are another set of fixtures from Europe's elite competition tonight.
Up first at 18:45 CET, Red Star Belgrade host Portuguese heavyweights Benfica, while German champions Bayer Leverkusen travel to Feyenoord.
Then a little later on, Arsenal face Atalanta, Atletico Madrid take on Leipzig, Brest make their European debut against Sturm Graz, and Barcelona go head to head with Monaco.
Wednesday, September 18th
22:54 CET - That’s full-time around the grounds in the Champions League. Manchester City and Inter have ended all level at 0-0 with the Italians withstanding a barrage of attempts from City.
PSG have edged Girona 1-0 thanks to that late late winner. Dortmund have beaten Club Brugge 3-0, scoring thrice in the second half while Celtic have smashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1.
Earlier, Sparta Prague beat Salzburg 3-0 while Bologna and Shakhtar played out a 0-0 draw.
22:51 CET - Over in Belgium, Serhou Guirassy has scored a penalty to make it 3-0 for Dortmund against Club Brugge.
22:48 CET - PSG have broken the deadlock with Nuno Mendes scoring to make it 1-0 against Girona. But really, it's a huge goalkeeping blunder with Paulo Gazzaniga letting Mendes' cross trickle through his arms and then legs.
22:43 CET - Make that 5-1 to Celtic, Adam Idah adds gloss to the win. It's turning into a thrashing for poor Slovan Bratislava. It is still goalless in Manchester and Paris.
22:41 CET - Dortmund have doubled their lead, with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scoring again, to make it 2-0 over Club Brugge. With less than 10 minutes to go, surely that's game over there and in Scotland where Celtic lead 4-1.
22:32 CET - And we have a goal from somewhere else! Dortmund lead Club Brugge 1-0 thanks to Jamie Bynoe-Gittens opener in Bruges.
22:27 CET - Well, Slovan's comeback has been squashed quite quickly, it's 4-1 to Celtic now with Daizen Maeda getting onto the scoresheet as well. That's now five goals at Celtic Park and none anywhere else...
22:17 CET - And just like that, Slovan pull one back! Kevin Wimmer has breathed life into the contest for the Slovak side, it's 3-1 and there is time! That is the first Champions League goal scored by the team from Bratislava ever.
Meanwhile, it's still goalless in the other three fixtures. All the goals are in Glasgow.
22:14 CET - Make that 3-0 to Celtic. Arne Engels slots a penalty to put the game beyond Slovan Bratislava, you'd think.
22:04 CET - Celtic have scored again! Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi has doubled the Scottish champions' lead over Slovan Bratislava. It's 2-0 at Celtic Park.
22:02 CET - We are back underway around the grounds! Will there be more than one goal in the next 45 minutes? Well, you'd hope so.
21:47 CET - At the break in the four ongoing Champions League clashes, there has been only one goal scored, by Celtic who lead Slovan 1-0. It is goalless in the other matches.
In the headline fixture, Manchester City are hosting Inter. As expected, City have dominated possession and territory so far (as you can see in the graphic below) but have not found a breakthrough - see all the match stats here.
21:30 CET - Over in Paris, it's still goalless between PSG and Girona with the hosts dominating the chances in the opening half hour.
It's still goalless between Brugge and Dortmund and between City and Inter as well. Celtic lead Slovan 1-0.
21:18 CET - Celtic's Ireland international Liam Scales has headed his side into the lead against Champions League newcomers Slovan Bratislava, scoring the first goal of the late session.
21:00 CET - Play is now underway from the four matches in this evening's Champions League action!
20:48 CET - Well it turns out that missed penalty in the fourth minute from Shakthar was a crucial one as it finishes 0-0 in Bolgona - an underwhelming encounter.
20:35 CET - Could Sparta Prague have really hoped for a better return to the Champions League? It is an incredible 3-0 win at home to European regulars Salzburg.
20:25 CET - Time is running out for Bologna and Shakhtar who as it stands will both take a point. Bologna have been the more likely side to find a winner having five shots on target to Shakhtar's one but in all honesty it would be a smash and grab if either side were to find a winner here.
Less than 10 minutes remaining.
20:15 CET - So back to tonight and the other game of major interest comes from PSG hosting a Girona side who will be hoping to produce a shock result in their Champions League debut.
Elsewhere, Scottish giants Celtic host Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava and Club Brugge take on Dortmund.
20:05 CET - Before I bring you the rest of tonight's matches, Sparta have added a third goal early in the second half to surely put Salzburg to bed!
After a fast passing move Victor Olatunji set up Qazim Laci who dummied the keeper before putting the ball into an empty net.
20:01 CET - Whilst full focus for now is in Bologna and Prague, in around 45 minutes time Manchester City host Inter Milan in a tasty tie.
The big team news is that club captain Lautaro Martinez is on the bench for Inter! Check out the full lineups here:
19:56 CET - The second period is also now underway in Italy as Bologna and Shakhtar search for the games first goal.
19:52 CET - We are back underway in Prague where the home side will hope to see out a dream return to Champions League football.
19:39 CET - It’s half-time in Prague with Sparta leading Salzburg 2-0 in their first Champions League match in 19 years. Some start from the Czech side.
Over in Bologna, it’s still goalless at the break with Shakhtar having missed an early penalty and only one shot on target coming from both sides across the first 45 minutes in soggy northern Italy.
19:27 CET - Nigerian Victor Olatunji has doubled Sparta's lead over Salzburg with a sharp finish from a very tight angle. 2-0 to the Spartans and it's now feeling like Salzburg have a lot to do with half-time approaching.
19:05 CET - It's still goalless over in Bologna but Shakhtar have missed a penalty. Georgiy Sudakov was the man who failed to convert from the spot for the Ukrainian side in the fourth minute.
18:47 CET - Well, it hasn't taken long for Sparta Prague to score against Salzburg with Kaan Kairinen netting an early goal in the side's first match back in the big time for 19 years. 1-0 Sparta after two minutes - what a start!
18:46 CET - The fixtures are underway in Prague and Bologna!
18:18 CET - Both hosts of today's early matches in the Champions League - Sparta Prague and Bologna - are back among Europe's elite after long breaks. For Sparta, it's 19 years since they were last in the competition while for Bologna, it's an immense 60 years since they were in the top-tier of European cup action.
Last season, Sparta won the Czech league while Bologna finished in an impressive fifth place in Serie A. Will they bring long-awaited joy to their fans this evening or will it prove to be a step-up too far for the sides? We will find out soon!
17:36 CET - Below you can see the starting lineups for Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk.
Follow the match live with us here.
17:35 CET - Below you can see the starting lineups for Sparta Prague vs Salzburg.
Follow the match live with us here.
17:00 CET - Welcome back to our live coverage of the UEFA Champions League's first round of the new season and format. Yesterday, the competition kicked off for the 2024/25 campaign with a bang as 26 goals were scored, incredibly, across the opening six fixtures.
This evening, we have six more fixtures to enjoy. First up, from 18:45 CET, Bologna host Shakhtar Donetsk while Salzburg travel to face Sparta Prague. Later on, heavyweights Dortmund, Manchester City and PSG are all in action. You can see the full round of fixtures below or via this link.
