The Champions League is finally back! And here are its first results!

Champions League. Matchday 1

Juventus - PSV Eindhoven 3:1
BSC Young Boys - Aston Villa 0:3
AC Milan - Liverpool 1:3
Real Madrid vs. VfB Stuttgart 3:1
Bayern Munich - Dinamo Zagreb 9:2
Sporting CP - LOSC Lille 2:0

However, football was played not only in the Champions League:

English Carabao Cup. Third Round

Manchester United - Barnsley 7:0
Preston North End - Fulham 1:1 (16:15 on pens)
Everton - Southampton 1:1 (5:6 on pens)
Brentford - Leyton Orient 3:1
QPR - Crystal Palace 1:2

La Liga. Matchday 7

RCD Mallorca - Real Sociedad 1:0

Stuttgart fought very well at the Bernabeu! In the first half, Thibaut Courtois made a couple of super saves, thus the teams went into the break with the score tied at 0-0. In the very first minute of the second half, Kylian Mbappe put Los Blancos ahead, but Undav managed to equalize in the 68th minute. Still, beating Real Madrid in the Champions League on their home turf is an almost impossible task to accomplish. In the 86th minute, Rüdiger scored a header, and at the end of the game, it was Endrick who secured the victory for Ancelotti's side.

Milan had an incredible start to the game against Liverpool, with Christian Pulisic opening the scoring in the 3rd minute. But then, Rossoneri conceded twice after set-pieces, which resulted in Virgil van Dijk and Konate delivering brilliant headers. After the break, Dominik Szoboszlai put the match to rest.

Juventus did not notice PSV's defense at all. In the midst of the first half, Kenan Yildiz opened the scoring with a truly stunning goal, and immediately afterward Weston McKennie doubled the White and Blacks' lead. At the beginning of the second 45 minutes of play, Nico González finished off the Dutch champions. Peter Bosz's charges managed to land a consolation goal only in the closing seconds of stoppage time.

Bayern, what are you? Vincent Kompany's men scored three times in the first half, but managed to concede twice in the opening 5 minutes of the second one. Well, Die Roten did not forgive Dinamo Zagreb for that daring attempt to get back in the game, scoring 6! more goals. Harry Kane netted a poker of goals, three of which came from spot kicks.

Alright, moving on to other news of the day!

Real Madrid planning big transfers in summer 2025
The Independent
Reliability: 3,5

Everything is pointing to the fact that the summer of 2025 will be a tremendous one for Real Madrid in terms of transfer market activity. More and more details are beginning to emerge in the media on the matter. You see, Real Madrid's priority will include strengthening the center of defense, as the club failed to boost this particular position last summer despite Carlo Ancelotti's request. The La Liga champions are mainly interested in signing Arsenal's first-choice centre-back William Saliba, but his price tag could be too high for the Merengues due to the Frenchman's young age and the role he plays at Arsenal. If no deal is reached, then Tottenham's Cristian Romero is the club's plan B. The Spanish giants are also still keen on recruiting Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is expected to become a free agent in the summer of 2025.

Rafael Leão - too expensive for Barça?
Calciomercato
Reliability: 3,5

Barcelona really like AC Milan star Rafael Leão, but his arrival at Camp Nou is almost out of the question. Leão stands at the center of Rossoneri's project, not to mention that his contract with the Italian club runs until the summer of 2028. The latter have made it clear that they are ready to let Leão go for only €175 million, which is a release clause written into his contract. As you might guess, neither this winter nor next summer will this amount be affordable for Barcelona. Leao himself is happy at Milan and has no intention of leaving the team in the near future.

Real Madrid could only sign Rodri under one condition
The Athletic
Reliability: 5

The building of the brand new 'Galacticos squad' goes on. Previously, the media reported on Real Madrid's desire to acquire Man City and Spain's key midfielder Rodri. According to the source, Real Madrid's interest in Rodri is indeed very strong. However, the Whites are not willing to pay the amount that Man City are currently asking for. Madrid also consider the footballer's salary demands too high. That said, the situation could change dramatically if Manchester City faces a serious financial penalty for violating 115 FFP rules. In this case, the club will be forced to sell its leaders. At the same time, Man City are doing everything they can to keep Rodri. The club will soon offer him a new contract.