Hot Champions League Start: Six Intense Matches as Real Madrid Host Inter Milan

In the early hours of September 9 Beijing time, the UEFA Champions League opening round officially began, with six matches taking place. Real Madrid will host Inter Milan, with legendary coach Jose Mourinho facing his former club again; Manchester City will travel to face Porto, while Erling Haaland could move past Thomas Muller with another goal. Meanwhile, three La Liga teams are involved, with Villarreal facing one of the toughest challenges. Austrian side LASK will also make their first appearance in the Champions League main competition, creating anticipation.

At 00:45, Club Brugge and Aston Villa will meet for the fourth time. In the 2024-25 Champions League round of 16, Villa defeated Club Brugge 3-1 and 3-0 in two matches, showing their development into a strong side. Over the past nine seasons, Villa have participated in the Champions League eight times, recording 16 wins, two draws and three losses in their last 21 group-stage and league-phase matches. Therefore, Emery's Villa enter this match with confidence and clear ambitions.

Also at 00:45, AEK Athens will face LASK. The Austrian club won both the league and cup double last season, and especially displayed remarkable comeback ability in the Champions League qualifying playoffs, overturning a 0-4 aggregate deficit to win 5-4 and reach the Champions League main competition for the first time. However, AEK Athens have an impressive home record in European competition, with nine wins, one draw and one loss in their last 11 home matches, making them a formidable opponent.

At 03:00, the clash between Real Madrid and Inter Milan is undoubtedly the highlight of the round, with their combined squad values reaching 2.2 billion euros. According to Transfermarkt data, Real Madrid rank first in the Champions League with a squad value of 1.46 billion euros, while Inter Milan are the highest-valued Serie A team at 730 million euros. Mourinho will once again lead one of the sides from the touchline. He guided Inter to the treble of the Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia in the 2009-10 season, creating a remarkable achievement. The opening match is expected to attract significant attention from fans.

At the same time, Porto will host Manchester City in another match. This will be Porto's 28th Champions League appearance in history, making them one of the competition's regular participants. However, Porto have won only two of their previous 16 matches against English Premier League teams. Meanwhile, Manchester City are undergoing rebuilding work in the new season, with manager Maresca leading the team to three consecutive opening wins, and Haaland needing just one more goal to surpass Thomas Muller and move into seventh place on the all-time scoring list.

The match between Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal is also highly anticipated. This will be the second meeting between the two teams, with Dortmund winning their previous encounter 4-0 in the 2025-26 group stage. Dortmund have made an excellent start to the Bundesliga season with two straight wins. Villarreal, meanwhile, are facing difficulties, having failed to win any of their first four La Liga matches and needing to improve their defense.

Finally, Real Betis return to the Champions League stage after 20 years away since the 2005-06 season. Although their previous campaign ended with a third-place group finish, the improving Betis have collected nine points in their first four La Liga matches this season and have made progress. Pellegrini's team will aim to secure an away opening victory with an encouraging performance.