The Champions League group stage will begin next month. Until then, we must make do with the exploits of lesser-known clubs like Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Liverpool.
The former produced what is sure to be one of the goals of the season, a sweet volley from Anthony Nwakaeme.
We have an early candidate for goal of the season!
Nothing like a good Twitter trolling to spice up a Champions League match. İstanbul Başakşehir hosts Sevilla in a Champions League qualifying playoff first leg on Wednesday.
The Turkish club sent a friendly message to the Spanish club, suggesting they’d be much happier winning another Europa League, the tournament into which the loser of the home-and-home series will fall.
Warning: This video is heartbreaking for everyone but CSKA Moscow fans. In the 91st minute of a scoreless Champions League playoff first leg between CSKA and Swiss club Young Boys, defender Kasim Adams Nuhu attempted to head the ball back to his keeper. Only his keeper was already coming out to receive the ball.
You can guess what happened next.
Is this the worst way to lose a game in stoppage time you've ever seen?
A wonderfully invented goal from Isco and a successful foray forward from Casemiro were enough to overcome Romelu Lukaku’s first competitive Manchester United goal on Tuesday, and Real Madrid captured an early piece of silverware in their 2017-18 campaign by defeating Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup.
Last June, Real became the first club to successfully defend their European title in the Champions League era, and based off the evidence here, they have to be firm UCL favorites this season as well.
July 8th marks a tragic date that Ajax will not soon forget. It was on this day that 20-year-old Abdelhak “Appie” Nouri collapsed during a friendly against Werder Bremen due to cardiac arrhythmia. Tragically, the young footballer suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a result. As of July 25th, Appie is no longer in an induced coma and is able to breathe on his own again.
On the pitch, Appie was named the 2016-17 Eerste Player of the Year as a member of Jong Ajax (the second team), and he was expected to make an impact this year in the Eredivisie with the first team.
Is UEFA blaming the victim?
Celtic seem to think so — at least with regards to the governing body’s response to crowd trouble during and after Celtic’s Champions League qualifier against Linfield FC in Belfast last week.
Media reports describe Hoops officials as “stunned and astonished” after UEFA leveled charges of “improper conduct” against the club and “provocation” against striker Leigh Griffiths following the heated first leg of the tie.
Typically, second round qualifiers for the UEFA Champions League are ho-hum affairs featuring clashes between footballing “minnows” from Europe’s lesser leagues and dominant clubs from decidedly top-heavy ones.
Where Scotland’s Celtic FC fits into this picture is up for debate, but what can’t be argued is that its upcoming tie against Linfield FC, a semi-professional club from Belfast, Northern Ireland, will be anything but boring, both on and off the pitch.