Como announced their arrival on European football’s grandest stage with a commanding 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig in their UEFA Champions League league-phase opener at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
The Italian side, making their competition debut, produced an impressive performance to overwhelm the German visitors and secure three crucial points in the new-format tournament.
Marc Casado’s future has reached a decisive stage during this transfer window. The Barcelona midfielder has attracted interest from several clubs in recent weeks, including teams from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as potential destinations in England, Italy and Germany, with RB Leipzig among the options.
Despite the growing interest, Casado has now established his priorities as clubs assess a possible move.
Source: tribuna.com
RB Leipzig has emerged as a concrete destination for Olympique Lyonnais winger Malick Fofana in the final hours of the transfer window, according to Sacha Tavolieri.
The 21-year-old Belgian international has approved the move to the Bundesliga club, with the guarantee of UEFA Champions League football this season understood to be the primary reason behind his decision.
RB Leipzig have reached a verbal agreement with Roma to sign midfielder Neil El Aynaoui, according to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Bundesliga club will initially sign the Morocco international on loan for €4 million. The deal reportedly includes a €25 million purchase option, as well as a sell-on clause.
Chelsea striker Marc Guiu is set to join RB Leipzig on a permanent transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Romano tweeted: “EXCLUSIVE: Marc Guiu to RB Leipzig from Chelsea, here we go!”
RB Leipzig have reportedly completed the agreement following secret talks, with the deal understood to be finalised on both the player and club sides despite there being no previous links between Guiu and the German club.
Real Madrid now know the eight clubs they will face in the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League. The draw, held in Monaco, handed the record 15-time winners a balanced schedule of four home fixtures at the Santiago Bernabéu and four away trips.
The 36 participating teams were split into four pots based on UEFA coefficients. As a Pot 1 side, Madrid were protected from drawing other Spanish clubs and could not face more than two teams from the same association. UEFA will confirm matchdates and kick-off times over the coming weekend.
The draw carries significant subtext for head coach José Mourinho. This Champions League campaign marks his first in a second spell at the club, and he arrives with a specific historical grievance: the “Big Eared” trophy eluded him during his first tenure (2010–2013), when Madrid reached three consecutive semi-finals but never advanced to the final. Having won the competition with Porto and Inter, the Portuguese manager is explicitly targeting a first European crown with Los Blancos to settle that debt.
The most high-profile fixture pits Madrid against Inter. The clubs have met 19 times previously, with Madrid holding a 10-win advantage. However, Inter inflicted one of the few final defeats in Madrid’s history, winning the 1964 European Cup final. The rivalry carries personal resonance for Mourinho, who secured his second Champions League title with Inter in 2010 — at the Bernabéu. Recent encounters have favored Madrid, who won both group-stage meetings in 2021/22.
The away trip to Arsenal carries a strong revenge narrative. The Gunners eliminated Madrid in the 2024/25 quarter-finals with a commanding 5-1 aggregate scoreline (3-0 at Emirates Stadium, featuring a Declan Rice brace; 2-1 at the Bernabéu). That defeat ranks among the most bitter European nights of the past two seasons, and Mourinho’s side will view the return fixture as a prime opportunity for recompense.
Roma represent another well-known adversary. The clubs have clashed repeatedly this century, exclusively in the Champions League, most recently in the 2015/16 round of 16, which Madrid won. PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk are also recurring group-stage opponents. Madrid generally hold the upper hand, though Shakhtar — who will play their designated home matches at Stamford Bridge — sprang a surprise with a 3-2 win at Valdebebas in 2020/21.
RB Leipzig return after a group-stage meeting in 2022/23. The fixture gains added intrigue because Leipzig developed Yan Diomande, who subsequently became the most expensive signing in Real Madrid’s history.
The schedule concludes with two infrequent opponents. AEK Athens represent a very rare matchup, while Austria’s LASK Linz will face Madrid for the first time in the club’s European history.
The league phase retains the structure introduced in recent editions. All 36 teams compete in a single table: the top eight advance directly to the round of 16; teams placed 9th–24th enter a two-legged knockout play-off round; the bottom 12 are eliminated with no Europa League fallback. From the round of 16 onward, the tournament reverts to a traditional knockout format culminating in the final on June 5, 2027, at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
With the opponents confirmed and the schedule imminent, Madrid — perennial favorites in their self-declared natural habitat — begin the pursuit of a sixteenth European crown.