Trabzonspor, Ferencvaros and Mohamed Salah
27 August 2026

Trabzonspor were eliminated from the Europa League after a 4-0 second-leg defeat at Ferencvaros completed a 5-0 aggregate loss. Mohamed Salah started but was substituted in the 64th minute as the Turkish side finished the match with nine players.

Ruslan Malinovskyi was sent off after 13 minutes and Sydney Lopez Cabral followed in the second half, making an already difficult comeback impossible. Trabzonspor now drop into the Europa Conference League after their heavy qualifying defeat.

UEFA and the 36 Champions League league-phase clubs
27 August 2026

UEFA’s four seeding pots for the 2026-27 Champions League league phase have been confirmed after the final qualifying places were decided. Thirty-six clubs will enter the draw, with each team facing two opponents from every pot.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Inter, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal occupy Pot 1. Manchester United return in Pot 2, while several other clubs secured places through this week’s qualifying play-offs.

Barcelona, UEFA and Wembley
27 August 2026

Camp Nou has emerged as the leading candidate to host the 2029 Champions League final, according to the supplied reporting, ahead of rival bidder Wembley. UEFA’s Executive Committee is expected to make the final hosting decision on 15 September.

Barcelona’s bid is backed by city, regional, national federation and Spanish government authorities. UEFA is reportedly comfortable with the stadium’s continuing redevelopment and has increased site visits, with its planned 104,600 capacity strengthening the Camp Nou proposal.

Hearts and Rapid Vienna
26 August 2026

Hearts reached the Conference League league phase after defeating Rapid Vienna 4-3 on penalties in Austria. The tie finished level after extra time, with goalkeeper Beau Reus making the decisive save to secure at least six more European matches.

Hearts recovered after falling behind and then playing with 10 men following Tomas Magnusson’s red card. Pierre Landry Kabore forced extra time, Rapid equalised again in the 119th minute, and Reus ultimately settled a tense shootout.

Al-Ahli and Auckland FC
26 August 2026

Al-Ahli defeated Auckland FC 1-0 in Jeddah to advance to the second round of the 2026 Club Continental Cup. Saleh Abu Al-Shamat scored the only goal in the 63rd minute from an Eduard Spertsyan pass.

Auckland defended deeply before Al-Ahli took control after half-time and created several chances. Sam Cosgrove was sent off late for Auckland, while Al-Ahli’s victory sets up a 19 September meeting with South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

Fenerbahce and Lyon
26 August 2026

Fenerbahce qualified for the Champions League league phase after beating Lyon 2-1 away and 3-2 on aggregate. Vedat Muriqi and Archie Brown scored within four first-half minutes to give the Turkish club control of the play-off.

Lyon pulled one back through Malick Fofana after half-time and had two further efforts disallowed for offside. Fenerbahce survived the late pressure without conceding again to secure their place in Thursday’s Champions League league-phase draw.

Liverpool, Tottenham and the Carabao Cup
26 August 2026

Liverpool will host Tottenham in the Carabao Cup third round, while Manchester United face Brighton and Ipswich host Arsenal. Holders Manchester City were drawn at home to Norwich as clubs involved in European competition enter the tournament.

Third-round fixtures will be spread across the weeks beginning 7 and 14 September to avoid clashes with the Champions League and Europa League. Two final places remain undecided, pending Chelsea against Luton and Fulham against AFC Wimbledon.

Juventus Women, Inter Women, St Polten and Wolfsburg
26 August 2026

Juventus took a major step toward the Women’s Champions League league phase with a commanding 3-0 away win over St Polten. Inter face a much harder route after losing their first-leg qualifier 2-0 at Wolfsburg.

Pinto scored twice and Martina Rosucci added Juventus’ third, leaving them strongly placed before the return leg on 2 September. Inter conceded to Prasnikar and Kuver, then played much of the second half with 10 players.

UEFA, Liverpool and Real Madrid
26 August 2026

UEFA has introduced a Champions League draw rule preventing the same fixture from being staged at the same venue for three consecutive seasons. The change means Liverpool cannot be drawn at home to Real Madrid in this season’s league phase.

Liverpool hosted Real Madrid in the competition in both 2024 and 2025, triggering the new restriction for this draw. The clubs can still be paired, but any league-phase meeting this season would have to be played in Madrid.

Bodo/Glimt and NEC Nijmegen
25 August 2026

Bodo/Glimt secured another Champions League league-phase appearance by beating NEC Nijmegen 3-0 in Norway, completing a 6-1 aggregate victory. NEC goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was sent off early after handling the ball outside his penalty area.

Bodo/Glimt took control against ten men, scoring twice before half-time and adding another after the break through a NEC own goal. The Norwegian club advances into the Champions League, while NEC drops into the Europa League.