Liverpool, Arsenal, Atlético and the others: first-time meetings with Kairat Almaty and Union Saint-Gilloise | OneFootball

The draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo has set Inter’s path during the League Phase of the 2025/26 Champions League.

These are the eight teams the Nerazzurri will face between September and January: Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Slavia Praha, Ajax, Kairat Almaty, and Union Saint-Gilloise.

UEFA will announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday 30 August.

Inter's home matches will be against: Liverpool, Arsenal, Slavia Praha and Kairat Almaty. Inter's away matches will be against: Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Ajax, and Union Saint-Gilloise.

LIVERPOOL

Inter will face Liverpool again following their last encounter in the 2021/22 Champions League round of 16. The match will take place at San Siro, marking the seventh official meeting between the Nerazzurri and the Reds. Their first two-legged showdown dates back to the legendary 1964/65 European Cup semi-final, when Herrera’s Grande Inter overturned a defeat at Anfield with a 3-0 victory in Milano. The last four encounters have all been in the round of 16, during the 2007/08 and 2021/22 seasons. In 2007/08, Inter lost both legs, while the most recent tie saw them win 1-0 at Anfield (Lautaro Martínez the scorer) after a 2-0 defeat at San Siro.

04/05/1965, Liverpool 3-1 Inter - 3' Hunt, 10' Mazzola, 33' Callaghan, 74' St.John 12/05/1965, Inter 3-0 Liverpool - 8' Corso, 9' Peirò, 62' Facchetti 19/02/2008, Liverpool 2-0 Inter - 86' Kuyt, 91' Gerrard 11/03/2008, Inter 0-1 Liverpool - 65' Fernando Torres 16/02/2022, Inter 0-2 Liverpool - 77' Firmino, 85' Salah, 08/03/2022, Liverpool 0-1 Inter - 69' Martínez,

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

This will be the seventh meeting between Inter and Borussia Dortmund, a clash not seen in the Champions League since the 2019/20 season. That year, the Nerazzurri won 2-0 at San Siro (goals from Lautaro Martínez and Antonio Candreva), while Dortmund managed a comeback victory in Germany. Their earlier two-legged encounters came during unforgettable European campaigns for Inter: in 1963/64, a 2-0 home win at San Siro secured the Nerazzurri’s place in their first-ever European Cup final, later won at the Praterstadion in Vienna against a legendary Real Madrid side containing Puskás and Di Stéfano. 30 years later, in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup, a 3-1 victory in Dortmund was enough for Inter to eliminate Borussia in the quarter-finals, with the Nerazzurri going on to win the competition by beating Salzburg in the final.

15/04/1964, Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Inter - 4' Mazzola, 23' Brungs, 28' Brungs, 41' Corso 29/04/1964, Inter 2-0 Borussia Dortmund - 48' Mazzola, 75' Jair 01/03/1994, Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Inter - 33' e 36' Jonk, 82' Schulz, 89' Shalimov 17/03/1994, Inter 1-2 Borussia Dortmund - 39' Zorc, 47' Ricken, 81' Manicone 23/10/2019, Inter 2-0 Borussia Dortmund - 22' Martínez, 90' Candreva, 05/11/2019, Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Inter - 5' Martínez, 40' Vecino, 52' Hakimi, 65' Brandt, 78' Hakimi

ARSENAL

Inter will host Arsenal for the second consecutive year, after the Nerazzurri secured a memorable 1-0 victory in the 2024/25 League Phase thanks to a penalty from Hakan Çalhanoğlu. The only other meetings between the sides date back to the 2003/04 Champions League group stage, with contrasting results: a brilliant 3-0 win for Inter at Highbury followed by a 5-1 home defeat.

17/09/2003, Arsenal FC 0-3 Inter - 21' Cruz, 24' Van der meyde, 41' Martins 25/11/2003, Inter 1-5 Arsenal FC - 25' Henry, 32' Vieri, 49' Ljungberg, 85' Henry, 88' Edu, 89' Pires 06/11/2024, Inter 1-0 Arsenal FC - 48' Calhanoglu (pen.)

ATLETICO MADRID

This will be the fourth meeting in history between Inter and Atletico Madrid, with the Nerazzurri set to return to the Metropolitano Stadium in the Spanish capital after two seasons. Inter’s only previous victory came in the first leg of the 2023/24 Champions League round of 16 clash between the sides, though it was ultimately nullified by Atletico’s win on penalties in the return leg. The two teams' only other encounter dates back to 2010, in the UEFA Super Cup final, which was won by the Colchoneros.

27/08/2010, Inter 0-2 Atletico Madrid - 61' Reyes, 83' Aguero 20/02/2024, Inter 1-0 Atletico Madrid - 80' Arnautovic 13/03/2024, Atletico Madrid 2-1 Inter 2-1 (3-2 on pens) - 33' Dimarco, 35' Griezmann, 88' Depay

SLAVIA PRAHA

After facing Sparta Praha away last season, Inter will once again take on a Czech side: this time it’s Slavia Praha, who will meet the Nerazzurri at San Siro. Inter and Slavia have met four times before: the first two encounters date back to the early days of European football, in the 1938 Mitropa Cup, with one victory apiece. In the modern Champions League, Inter faced the Czech side in the 2019/20 group stage (the same season in which they also played Borussia Dortmund). The reverse fixture at San Siro ended 1-1, with Nicolò Barella scoring his first goal for Inter, while the Nerazzurri then won 3-1 in Prague thanks to a brace from Lautaro Martínez and a goal from Romelu Lukaku.

11/07/1938, SK Slavia Praha 9-0 Ambrosiana Inter - Bican, Horak, Horak, Bican, Bican, Bradac, Kopecky, Bican, Vytlacil 17/07/1938, Ambrosiana Inter 3-1 SK Slavia Praha - Vytlacil, Ferrari, Frossi, Ferrari 17/09/2019, Inter 1-1 SK Slavia Praha - 65' Olayinka, 93' Barella, 27/11/2019, SK Slavia Praha 1-3 Inter - 19' Martínez, 37' Soucek(Rig), 83' Lukaku, 90' Martínez,

AJAX

Inter and Ajax have faced each other five times, all in the European Cup/Champions League. The head-to-head record currently stands at three wins for Inter, one draw, and one victory for the Dutch side. In the 2025/26 League Phase, Inter will meet the Dutch outfit in Amsterdam.

Their first encounter was in the 1972 European Cup final, with a 2-0 victory for Ajax thanks to a brace from Johan Cruyff. In the 2002/03 season, Inter and Ajax met in the Champions League group stage. The Nerazzurri won 1-0 at San Siro (Hernán Crespo the scorer) and triumphed 2-1 in Amsterdam, where Crespo took centre stage again with two brilliant efforts.

In 2006, Inter and Ajax faced off in the Champions League round of 16, with the first leg in Amsterdam and the return fixture at San Siro. In the Netherlands, the match ended 2-2 (4’ Stanković, 16’ Huntelaar, 20’ Rosales, 87’ Cruz), while Inter won the second leg 1-0 thanks to a superb strike from Dejan Stanković.

31/05/1972, Ajax 2-0 Inter - 48' Cruijff, 77' Cruijff 25/09/2002, Inter 1-0 Ajax - 74' Crespo 12/11/2002, Ajax 1-2 Inter - 50' Crespo, 52' Crespo, 94' Van der vaart 22/02/2006, Ajax 2-2 Inter - 4' Stankovic, 16' Huntelaar, 20' Rosales, 87' Cruz 14/03/2006, Inter 1-0 Ajax - 58' Stankovic

KAIRAT ALMATY

Kairat Almaty are making their first-ever appearance in the Champions League, becoming the easternmost team in the history of Europe’s premier competition. The Kazakh side will face Cristian Chivu’s team at San Siro. Domestic champions in 2024, Kairat qualified for the League Phase after progressing through four qualifying rounds, eliminating Olimpija Ljubljana, Finland’s Kuopion Palloseura, Slovan Bratislava, and Celtic in the playoffs. Inter have never faced a team from Kazakhstan before.

UNION SAINT-GILLOISE

Union Saint-Gilloise have also qualified for the Champions League for the first time, having been crowned Belgian champions last season. Inter and Union have never faced each other before. Overall, the Nerazzurri have played ten matches against Belgian opponents across various European competitions: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (Anderlecht 1969/70), the European Cup (Standard Liège 1971/72), the European Cup Winners’ Cup (Beveren 1978/79), the UEFA Cup (Anderlecht 1996/97), and the Champions League (Anderlecht 2004/05). Inter's record is five wins, two draws and three defeats.

01/04/1970, Anderlecht 0-1 Inter - 49' Boninsegna 15/04/1970, Inter 0-2 Anderlecht - 3' Bergholtz, 45' Bergholtz 08/03/1972, Inter 1-0 Standard Liège - 85' Jair 22/03/1972, Standard Liège 2-1 Inter - 52' Cvelter, 79' Mazzola, 85' pen. Takac 07/03/1979, Inter 0-0 Beveren 21/03/1979, Beveren 1-0 Inter - 85' Janssens 04/03/1997, Anderlecht 1-1 Inter - 27' Versavel, 75' Ganz 18/03/1997, Inter 2-1 Anderlecht - 12' Ganz, 33' Preko, 60' Ganz 29/09/2004, Anderlecht 1-3 Inter - 9' Martins, 52' Adriano, 55' Stankovic, 95' Baseggio 07/12/2004, Inter 3-0 Anderlecht - 33' Cruz, 61' Martins, 64' Martins