Champions League returns: Real Madrid-Inter tonight

The opening round of the league phase gets under way tonight: Club Brugge vs Aston Villa and AEK Athens vs LASK kicked off at 18:45, while the marquee fixtures follow at 21:00, headed by Real Madrid vs Inter. None of today's matches is yet listed as finished in the official data: the 18:45 games are in progress and the 21:00 games are scheduled, so there are no final scores yet. Inter, according to ANSA Calcio, travel to the Bernabeu without Dimarco, rested as a precaution.

The day is dominated by the treatment room, and the news is heavy. Juventus lose Locatelli, who has had knee surgery on his meniscus: reports point to a long lay-off, with Askanews indicating three to six months out, while Boga is also a doubt with a hamstring problem (sport.sky.it, Askanews, Tuttosport). At Napoli, McTominay has undergone a heart procedure in England and will rest for around two weeks (ANSA Calcio), while Anguissa and Neres are out or seriously in doubt for the European clash with Arsenal (napolicalcionews.it, Corriere dello Sport).

More injuries in Serie A: Udinese midfielder Piotrowski has been diagnosed with a mild, benign cardiac arrhythmia and will undergo an ablation procedure, just as McTominay did (Corriere dello Sport, Fantacalcio). On the disciplinary front, the sporting judge has banned Bologna coach Tedesco for two matches for insulting the referee, plus a one-game ban for Gaetano (ANSA Calcio).

Off the pitch, the list of thirty nominees for the 2026 Ballon d'Or has been announced, along with the shortlists for goalkeeper, coach and best young player of the year (Calciomercato.com, Gianluca Di Marzio). Fiorentina begin the Vanoli era after sacking Grosso (Corriere dello Sport), while Como provide the story of the day: president Suwarso and the club's directors gave up their stadium seats to elderly fans for the European tie, and the club renewed the contract of player Roberta Picchi after she was diagnosed with cancer (ANSA Calcio, sport.sky.it, La Gazzetta dello Sport). Among the confirmed moves, Lazio signed free-agent defender Diogo Leite on a two-year deal (ANSA Calcio).

The rest of the European evening completes the picture: at 21:00, alongside Real Madrid vs Inter, the schedule features Porto vs Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal and Lille vs Real Betis. Nothing changes in the domestic standings for the Italian sides, because there is no Serie A action today: the Champions League league-phase table will only start to take shape once tonight's games are over.

Tomorrow the opening round continues with another packed programme: at 18:45 Barcelona vs Feyenoord and Stuttgart vs Viking, then at 21:00 the big one Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid, PSG vs Slovan Bratislava, Sporting vs Galatasaray and, above all, Napoli vs Arsenal, the European date on everyone's mind in Naples.