Sports
English clubs sweep Champions League opening round with five straight wins
September 11, 2026 at 03:03 PM · Updated 35d ago
Coverage
3 reports · 2 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 12 hours
England's five Champions League representatives all won their opening league-phase matches, out-shooting opponents 102-44 while conceding just five goals.
- All five English clubs won their opening matches, with Liverpool the only one drawn against a pot-one opponent and Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City winning away.
- English teams recorded 24 big chances and put 28 more efforts on target than their opponents across the round.
- Ismail Kartal resigned as Fenerbahce head coach after his side drew 1-1 with Roma.
- Teams finishing ninth through 16th in the league phase will play a playoff against sides placed 17th to 24th to decide the remaining round-of-16 places.
Latest developments
- Sep 11 — Kartal announced he would never return to Fenerbahce after resigning as head coach following the draw.
- Sep 11 — A fan threw a water bottle at Kartal's head during the Champions League match against Roma.
- Sep 11 — Club president Aziz Yildirim rejected the resignation, and assistants Dirk Kuyt and Zeki Murat Gölü led training while officials sought to persuade him to return.


