Champions League 2025/26: Inter upbeat, Atalanta bottom after opener | OneFootball

The Champions League 2025/26 has officially kicked off with the new format introduced last season.

Champions League 2025/26, the standings after the first matchday: Inter smiles, Atalanta last

After three days of matches, the first matchday of the single-table phase has offered the first verdicts, with Inter being the only Italian team to secure three points, while Atalanta is last.

The new format: a single table with 36 teams

From the 2024/25 season, the Champions League no longer features the classic groups of four teams. The 36 participants are gathered in a single general ranking, which determines the progression to the knockout phase:

1st-8th place: direct access to the round of 16.

9th-24th place: qualification for the playoffs.

25th place and below: elimination from all UEFA competitions.

Each team will play a total of eight matches, and at the end, the final ranking will be drawn up.

UEFA prizes: how much each position earns

Besides sporting prestige, the ranking also determines the financial prizes. The amounts vary depending on the placement, with a maximum of 9.9 million euros for first place and a minimum of 275,000 euros for the last position.

For example:

1st place: 9.9 million

8th place: 7.9 million

16th place: 5.8 million

24th place: 3.6 million

36th place: 275,000 euros

A mechanism that makes every point crucial both for the sporting journey and for the clubs' finances.

Tiebreaker criteria in case of equal points

In case of teams with equal points, UEFA applies a series of criteria, including:

goal difference,

higher number of goals scored,

number of victories,

disciplinary score,

up to the UEFA coefficient as the last tiebreaker.

The standings after the first matchday

Here is the provisional ranking of the Champions League 2025/26 (goal difference in parentheses):

Eintracht Frankfurt 3 (+4)

PSG 3 (+4)

Brugge 3 (+3)

Sporting Lisbon 3 (+3)

Union Saint Gilloise 3 (+2)

Bayern Munich 3 (+2)

Arsenal 3 (+2)

Inter 3 (+2)

Manchester City 3 (+2)

Qarabag 3 (+1)

Liverpool 3 (+1)

Real Madrid 3 (+1)

Tottenham 3 (+1)

Barcelona 2 (+1)

Borussia Dortmund 1 (0)

Juventus 1 (0)

Bayer Leverkusen 1 (0)

Bodo Glimt 1 (0)

Slavia Prague 1 (0)

Copenhagen 1 (0)

Pafos 1 (0)

Olympiacos 1 (0)

Atletico Madrid 0 (-1)

Benfica 0 (-1)

Marseille 0 (-1)

Newcastle 0 (-1)

Villarreal 0 (-1)

Napoli 0 (-2)

Chelsea 0 (-2)

PSV 0 (-2)

Ajax 0 (-2)

Athletic Bilbao 0 (-2)

Monaco 0 (-3)

Kairat Almaty 0 (-3)

Galatasaray 0 (-4)

Atalanta 0 (-4)

Italian teams in mixed fortunes

Among the Italian teams, Inter starts off on the right foot with a victory that immediately places them in the top zone. Juventus and Napoli remain at one point and zero, while Atalanta closes the standings in last place with a heavy -4 goal difference.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.