The second day of matchday three in the Champions League offered few surprises. The sensation came only in Como, where the Italian provincial side thrashed Manchester United. Arsenal, upholding the reputation of football's birthplace, took a draw away from Munich. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The headline fixture, Bayern Munich versus Arsenal, felt like a rehearsal for a knockout-stage match. Both clubs, the reigning champions of Germany and England, are certain to feature in that phase. And if the draw allows, they could meet each other at some stage.
The match at a packed Allianz Arena (75,000 spectators) delivered high-quality football. It was somewhat academic before the break, but fast-paced and top-class in the second half.
Both teams led and trailed at different points. Three of the four goals were scored by Englishmen – Arsenal's Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Bayern's Harry Kane. In the first half, Munich's Canadian Alphonso Davies equalised. A 2-2 result appeared to satisfy everyone.
Manchester United embarrassed themselves in Como. The Italian Champions League debutants took the field against a once-fearsome but still prestigious opponent without a trace of timidity. By the third minute they were ahead – Argentine Nico Paz opened the scoring. He also made it a rout late in the hour. All the Red Devils managed was a consolation goal from Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee in the first minute of added time. Though the word 'prestige' is becoming increasingly foreign to Michael Carrick's charges, who sit 13th in the Premier League.
⚽ BAYERN (Munich, Germany) – ARSENAL (London, England) 2:2 (1:1). Goals: Eze 25 (0:1), Davies 35 (1:1), Kane 61 pen (2:1), Rice 82 (2:2)
⚽ REAL (Madrid, Spain) – LEIPZIG (Germany) 4:1 (1:0). Goals: Bernardo 44 (1:0), Guler 52 (2:0), Mbappe 83 (3:0), Gomis 85 (3:1), Diomande 87 (4:1)
⚽ INTER (Milan, Italy) – SHAKHTAR (Donetsk, Ukraine) 1:0 (0:0). Goal: Augusto 77. Sent off: Bastoni (I, 68)
⚽ COMO (Italy) – MANCHESTER UNITED (England) 4:1 (1:0). Goals: Paz 2 (1:0), Douvikas 42 (2:0), Paz 57 (3:0), Ramon 46 (4:0), Zirkzee 90+1 (4:1)
⚽ LILLE (France) – GALATASARAY (Istanbul, Turkey) 2:4 (2:2). Goals: Akgun 2 (0:1), Diaoun 7 (1:1), Diaoun 39 (2:1), Batrakov 44 (2:2), Bentaleb 52 own goal (2:3), Osimhen 61 (2:4)
⚽ ASTON VILLA (Birmingham, England) – VIKING (Stavanger, Norway) 3:1 (2:0). Goals: Barkley 23 (1:0), Buendia 37 pen (2:0), Heggheim 62 own goal (3:0), Christiansen 84 (3:1)
⚽ BETIS (Seville, Spain) – FEYENOORD (Rotterdam, Netherlands) 1:0 (0:0). Goal: Isco 59 pen
⚽ BRUGGE (Belgium) – LENS (France) 3:0 (1:0). Goals: Vanaken 45+3 (1:0), Seys 50 (2:0), Forbes 72 (3:0)
⚽ SPORTING (Lisbon, Portugal) – LASK (Linz, Austria) 2:3 (1:1). Goals: Suarez 5 pen (1:0), Lang 15 (1:1), Kalajdzic 63 (1:2), Danek 68 (1:3), Suarez 89 (2:3)
Aston Villa, who sit just one place above Manchester United in the English league, are unacquainted with the problems of former giants. Unai Emery's side, holders of the Europa League trophy, are settling confidently into a higher-ranked competition. Birmingham's third win, this time over Norwegian Viking (3:1), lifted them to second in the overall table. Only PSG are above them, on goal difference.
Real Madrid, who proved their superiority over Leipzig (4:1) at the Santiago Bernabeu without excessive energy expenditure, sit fourth. Kylian Mbappe's customary goal was complemented by strikes from Portugal's Bernardo Silva, who opened the scoring, Turkey's Arda Guler and Ivory Coast's Yan Diomande.
Galatasaray, after a brace from 19-year-old Frenchman Soriba Diaoun, were trailing Lille on their own patch – 1:2. A goal from Russia's Alexei Batrakov right before the break and an own goal from Lille's Algerian Nail Bentaleb early in the second half turned the game at the Pierre Mauroy. Nigeria's Victor Osimhen, Istanbul's top scorer in last season's European campaign, has started scoring in this season's League too – 4:2.
Two goals from Colombia's Luis Suarez were not enough for Portugal's Sporting even to earn a home draw. Austria's LASK, after two defeats, claimed an unexpected victory in Lisbon – 3:2.
Belgium's Brugge, buoyed by their 4:3 win over Inter at San Siro, steamrolled France's Lens – 3:0. The Milan club themselves, at the Giuseppe Meazza, beat Donetsk's Shakhtar 1:0 with ten men. By the same score, Spain's Betis defeated Dutch Feyenoord in Seville.
Matchday four of the 2026/27 Champions League will take place on 3 and 4 November.
Each of the 36 teams will play eight matches against different opponents in the Champions League main round. The top eight clubs in the overall table advance directly to the round of 16.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2026/27. AFTER THREE MATCHDAYS
⚽ 1. PSG, 2. Aston Villa, 3. Liverpool, 4. Real, 5. Betis (9 points each), 6. Stuttgart, 7. Arsenal (7 each), 8. Barcelona (6)
Teams placed 9th to 24th will take part in play-off matches for the right to play in the round of 16.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2026/27. AFTER THREE MATCHDAYS
⚽ 9. Como, 10. Manchester City, 11. Brugge, 12. Sporting, 13. Borussia (6 each), 14. Bayern (5), 15. Roma, 16. Atletico (4 each)
Clubs from 9th to 16th will be seeded in the play-off draw.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2026/27. AFTER THREE MATCHDAYS
⚽ 17. Shakhtar, 18. PSV (4 each), 19. Villarreal, 20. Inter, 21. Man Utd, 22. Napoli, 23. Galatasaray, 24. LASK (3 each)
Teams placed 25th to 36th are eliminated from the competition.