Potter makes Chelsea touchline debut today
A look at what’s happening in the UEFA Champions League today:
GROUP A
Rangers will host Napoli in a game pushed back from Tuesday because of logistical issues arising from the death of Queen Elizabeth II. UEFA has said Napoli fans will not be allowed to attend the game in Glasgow. Rangers, back in the Champions League after a 12-year absence, opened the group with a 4-0 loss at Ajax. Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1. Liverpool beat Ajax 2-1 yesterday.
GROUP E
Graham Potter takes charge of his first match as Chelsea manager when RB Salzburg visit Stamford Bridge. Potter left Brighton and replaced Thomas Tuchel as manager on Thursday before Chelsea’s Premier League game at Fulham on Saturday was called off after the death of The Queen. The pressure is immediately on Potter, with Chelsea having opened the group with a 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb. Tuchel was fired two days later. Salzburg started with a 1-1 home draw with AC Milan, who host Dinamo for their second game.
GROUP F
Defending champions Real Madrid will remain without the injured Karim Benzema when they host RB Leipzig. The striker is still recovering from a tendon injury sustained in Madrid’s 3-0 win at Celtic in the opener last week. Manager Carlo Ancelotti used Rodrygo and Eden Hazard playing alongside Vinícius Júnior in attack in the team’s win against Mallorca in the Spanish league last weekend. Madrid have a perfect record to start the season, with seven victories. In the other match, Shakhtar Donetsk play their first “home” game in the group in Warsaw when Celtic visit the Polish city. The Ukrainian team has played in exile because of Russian aggression.
GROUP G
Erling Haaland is getting a quick reunion with Borussia Dortmund. The striker left Dortmund in the summer to join Manchester City, the team he supported as a child after being born in England. He has started the Premier League in explosive fashion, scoring 10 goals in six games. Then, in his first Champions League game for City, Haaland scored twice in a 4-0 win at Sevilla last week to make it 25 goals in 20 games in the competition. Dortmund, who beat FC Copenhagen 3-0 to open the group, had Haaland in their team when losing 2-1 at City in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2021. Both Copenhagen and Sevilla look to rebound when they meet in Denmark.
GROUP H
Neymar and Kylian Mbappé look to continue their sparkling form as unbeaten Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) travel to play Israeli club Maccabi Haifa. Mbappé scored two sharp volleys in PSG’s opening win against Juventus, while Neymar has netted a French league-high eight goals — one more than Mbappé. But PSG Coach Christophe Galtier will be without central defender Presnel Kimpembe, who is out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury. Backup goalkeeper Keylor Navas will sit out the match with lower back pain. Benfica, who lead the group on goal difference, are off to a great start this season and will be going for their 12th straight victory overall when they travel to Juventus in the other game.
Today’s games:
Group A
Rangers v Napoli — 2 pm
Group E
Milan v Dinamo Zagreb —
11:45 am
Chelsea v RB Salzberg — 2 pm
Group F
Shaktar Donetsk v Celtic —
11:45 am
Real Madrid v RB Leipzig — 2
pm
Group G
FC Copenhagen v Sevilla — 2
pm
Man City v Dortmund — 2 pm
Group H
Juventus v Benfica — 2 pm
Maccabi Haifa v PSG — 2 pm