Key events
Preamble
The Champions League is back, baby! The road to glory is arduous, taking almost nine months, but the journey will be worth it for whoever gets to lift the trophy in Budapest on 30 May 2026.
The club who part-own that trophy, Real Madrid, are one of 12 teams in action of opening night. We have separate liveblogs for Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal (5.45pm) and Lads, We Really Need to Put This To Bed and Just Call Them Tottenham v Villarreal (8pm), so it’s the job of clockwatch to flirt with nystagmus and follow the other games:
Madrid take the headlines, they just do, but Juventus v Dortmund looks the best game of the night. It’s also a repeat of the memorable 1997 final, in which Zinedine Zidane was kept quiet by Mike Yarwood.
The team news will arrive shortly. In the meantime, erm, pour yourself something nice?
