UEFA Champions League standings: Manchester United in fourth place after 4-0 win over Sabah FK; Como beat RB Leipzig

Manchester United got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a flying start; debutants Como also impressed. 

PN Vishnu
Published11 Sep 2026, 08:43 AM IST
Manchester United (Left) made a winning return to the UEFA Champions League, whereas Como (Right) also impressed in their tournament debut.
Manchester United (Left) made a winning return to the UEFA Champions League, whereas Como (Right) also impressed in their tournament debut. (AP / Reuters )

Manchester United marked their return to the UEFA Champions League with a 4-0 victory over Sabah, while Como celebrated their first-ever appearance in Europe's premier club competition with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig as the opening matchday of the 2026/27 league phase concluded on Thursday.

Manchester United had been absent from the Champions League for two seasons before their return at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick's side took the lead in the 26th minute when Matheus Cunha found the net.

Bruno Fernandes doubled the advantage in the 41st minute before Benjamin Sesko scored United's third three minutes later. Lisandro Martinez completed the Red Devils' dominant performance with a goal in the 67th minute.

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Sabah, the Azerbaijani champions, were making their first appearance in the Champions League league phase. Their starting XI also made competition history by featuring players of 11 different nationalities.

Como impresses on Champions League debut

Como produced a notable result on the same night. Playing at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, the Italian club defeated Leipzig 4-1 in their first-ever Champions League match.

Martin Baturina opened the scoring in the 14th minute before Anastasios Douvikas made it 2-0 in the 37th minute. Assane Diao extended Como's lead seven minutes into the second half. Leipzig reduced the deficit through Andrija Maksimovic in the 57th minute, but Maximo Perrone restored Como's three-goal advantage in the 89th minute.

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Como's qualification for the competition was also notable because the club had to upgrade its home stadium to meet UEFA requirements. The club ultimately staged its opening league-phase fixture at the Sinigaglia.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Bayern Munich defeated Bodø/Glimt 5-0, with Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies and Michael Olise, who scored twice, finding the net. Fenerbahçe drew 1-1 with Roma, while PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk also shared the points after a 1-1 draw. Lens came from behind to beat 10-man Slavia Prague 3-2.

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The opening two days had already produced several high-scoring matches. Barcelona defeated Feyenoord 5-1, Paris Saint-Germain beat Slovan Bratislava 6-1, and Sporting CP defeated Galatasaray 3-1. Liverpool beat Atlético Madrid 2-1, while Arsenal won 1-0 away to Napoli.

On the opening night, Aston Villa defeated Club Brugge 3-2, Manchester City beat Porto 2-0, Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1, Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2, Real Betis defeated Lille 3-2, and AEK Athens beat LASK 1-0.

Matchday 1 results

AEK Athens 1-0 LASK

Club Brugge 2-3 Aston Villa

Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal

Porto 0-2 Manchester City

Lille 2-3 Real Betis

Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan

Barcelona 5-1 Feyenoord

Stuttgart 3-1 Viking

Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 Slovan Bratislava

Sporting CP 3-1 Galatasaray

Napoli 0-1 Arsenal

Fenerbahçe 1-1 Roma

PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk

Como 4-1 RB Leipzig

Bayern Munich 5-0 Bodø/Glimt

Manchester United 4-0 Sabah

Slavia Prague 2-3 Lens

Updated Champions League standings after matchday 1

PosTeamPWDLGFGAGDPts
1Paris Saint-Germain110061+53
2Bayern Munich110050+53
3Barcelona110051+43
4Manchester United110040+43
5Como110041+33
6Sporting CP110031+23
7Stuttgart110031+23
8Manchester City110020+23
9Aston Villa110032+13
10Lens110032+13
11Real Betis110032+13
12Borussia Dortmund110032+13
13Liverpool110021+13
14Real Madrid110021+13
15Arsenal110010+13
16AEK Athens110010+13
17Roma10101101
18Shakhtar Donetsk10101101
19Fenerbahçe10101101
20PSV Eindhoven10101101
21Villarreal100123-10
22Club Brugge100123-10
23Lille100123-10
24Slavia Prague100123-10
25Atlético Madrid100112-10
26Inter Milan100112-10
27LASK100101-10
28Napoli100101-10
29Galatasaray100113-20
30Viking100113-20
31Porto100102-20
32RB Leipzig100114-30
33Feyenoord100115-40
34Sabah100104-40
35Bodø/Glimt100105-50
36Slovan Bratislava100116-50

About the Author

PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.

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