Real Madrid v Inter, Millwall v Newcastle: Champions League and Carabao Cup – live
All the latest from the first league phase matches of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup third round. Join Daniel Harris
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div id="liveblog-body"><p><span><gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"6a9fd8b78f0892c7693afa41","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>On 16 September 1987, Diego Maradona’s Napoli travelled to La Quinta del Buitre’s Real Madrid to play a first round, first leg match of the European Cup. Madrid won 2-0 with the return at the San Paolo drawn 1-1, meaning elimination for I Partenopei, gone from the competition almost before they arrived.</p>","elementId":"052bc9cf-c165-4dc4-9205-6b4f2e6dcce6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Silvio Berlusconi was not impressed, unhappy to lose one of the favourites were so early and also unwilling to risk similar happening to AC Milan, the club he owned. So he propagated the idea of a European super league and, though it never came to fruition, a spooked Uefa caved anyway and, five years later, the <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/football/championsleague\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Champions League</a> came into being.</p>","elementId":"404f0e7e-78be-4e8c-aacf-31bac8a3d90f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>But that was not enough, because it never is. First, it was more than one team from the richest countries – that’s now up to five in some cases – and now it’s the Swiss model format, which takes the Berlusconi rationale to it’s natural conclusion: lots of lucrative matches between the richest teams, without the jeopardy of elimination. Gabriel Hanot, who came up with the original idea of continental competition, would be crying bitter tears this very day, while the rest of us have no choice but to enjoy Real Madrid v Internazionale.</p>","elementId":"3260ae77-655f-4bff-9940-05d0acd3f4da"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Which, of course, is ridiculously easily done, football a victim of its own nonpareil. There’s no shortage of interest in seeing whether José Mourinho, handed his latest last chance, has finally rediscovered the magic of his old self, while former acolyte, Cristian Chivu, is freshly installed at Inter, where his old boss did perhaps his best work</p>","elementId":"c255eadf-66a3-4e97-9df0-cf6de6ce46ea"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Nor is that all. We’ll also enjoy Dortmund – and, in particular, Konstantinos Karetsas, the 18-year-old midfielder who’s made a brilliant start to life at the Westfalen – against Villarreal, with updates from Porto v Manchester City and Lille v Real Betis. Quite what any of it means is unclear, but who needs context when you’ve got millions of eyeballs obsessing over potentially brilliant football?</p>","elementId":"fad7489f-cfb4-48d6-95e2-0b2d49c6336a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>And, on top of all that, we’ll keep you apprised of all the goings-on in the League Cup, so crack a can of Crypto, dip into your packet of energy, and settle in.</p>","elementId":"eb05eed3-b461-40ab-b187-946bc33f3f7e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><strong>Kick-offs:</strong> League Cup 7.45pm/8pm BST, Champions League 8pm BST</p>","elementId":"5428ab07-f276-4ec4-955b-231fa067d905"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1788888645000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"18.30 BST","blockLastUpdated":1788887606000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"18.13 BST","blockFirstPublished":1788888645000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"18.30 BST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"18.30","title":"Preamble","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 8 Sep 2026 18.49 BST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 8 Sep 2026 18.30 BST"}],"id":"key-events-carousel-mobile","renderingTarget":"Web","serverTime":1788889805894}"><span id="key-events-carousel-mobile"></span><span><p>Key events</p></span><div id="key-events-carousel"><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/08/real-madrid-v-inter-millwall-v-newcastle-champions-league-and-carabao-cup-live?page=with%3Ablock-6a9fd8b78f0892c7693afa41#block-6a9fd8b78f0892c7693afa41" data-link-name="key event card | 0 of 1"><p><time datetime="2026-09-08T17:30:45.000Z" data-locale="en-gb" title="Tuesday, 8 September 2026 at 18:30 British Summer Time">19m ago</time></p><p>Preamble</p></a></li></ul></div></gu-island></span></p><article id="block-6aa04aaa8f081e01929e6ab8"><header></header><p><strong>And the race for the County Championship is intensifying.</strong></p><figure id="9340cc0a-c515-40ef-a6b8-1e540348496d" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement"><gu-island name="RichLinkComponent" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"richLinkIndex":1,"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Leicestershire charged by ECB, Nottinghamshire v Hampshire, and more: county cricket, day one – live","elementId":"9340cc0a-c515-40ef-a6b8-1e540348496d","role":"inline","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/08/nottinghamshire-v-hampshire-leicestershire-v-somerset-and-more-county-cricket-day-one-live"},"ajaxUrl":"https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk","format":{"design":11,"display":0,"theme":2}}"></gu-island></figure></article><article id="block-6aa04a3d8f08a7ec8f75d1c9"><header></header><p><strong>There’s a classic in progress at Flushing Meadow…</strong></p><figure id="f0ed28b7-16e8-4bd8-8b99-54b4089c385d" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement"><gu-island name="RichLinkComponent" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"richLinkIndex":1,"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"US Open 2026 quarter-finals: Aryna Sabalenka v Linda Noskova goes to deciding set – live","elementId":"f0ed28b7-16e8-4bd8-8b99-54b4089c385d","role":"inline","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/sep/08/us-open-tennis-2026-quarter-finals-sabalenka-noskova-tiafoe-michelsen-live"},"ajaxUrl":"https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk","format":{"design":11,"display":0,"theme":2}}"></gu-island></figure></article><article id="block-6aa04a0c8f081e01929e6aaf"><header></header><p><strong>Niall McVeigh has the build-up from Oporto…</strong></p><figure id="d146cc38-f13a-4f55-9a5e-cb5f02484ac9" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement"><gu-island name="RichLinkComponent" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"richLinkIndex":1,"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Porto v Manchester City: Champions League – live","elementId":"d146cc38-f13a-4f55-9a5e-cb5f02484ac9","role":"inline","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/08/porto-v-manchester-city-champions-league-live"},"ajaxUrl":"https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk","format":{"design":11,"display":0,"theme":2}}"></gu-island></figure></article><article id="block-6aa049c48f08a7ec8f75d1c0"><header></header><p><strong>Goodness me, there’s a lot going on.</strong> In Bruges, Villa are going nicely…</p><figure id="8554c11e-0546-4bc6-850d-0d92be71a654" data-spacefinder-role="inline" data-spacefinder-type="model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement"><gu-island name="RichLinkComponent" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"richLinkIndex":1,"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Club Brugge v Aston Villa: Champions League – live","elementId":"8554c11e-0546-4bc6-850d-0d92be71a654","role":"inline","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/08/club-brugge-v-aston-villa-champions-league-live"},"ajaxUrl":"https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk","format":{"design":11,"display":0,"theme":2}}"></gu-island></figure></article><article id="block-6a9fd8b78f0892c7693afa41"><header><h2>Preamble</h2></header><p>On 16 September 1987, Diego Maradona’s Napoli travelled to La Quinta del Buitre’s Real Madrid to play a first round, first leg match of the European Cup. Madrid won 2-0 with the return at the San Paolo drawn 1-1, meaning elimination for I Partenopei, gone from the competition almost before they arrived.</p><p>Silvio Berlusconi was not impressed, unhappy to lose one of the favourites were so early and also unwilling to risk similar happening to AC Milan, the club he owned. So he propagated the idea of a European super league and, though it never came to fruition, a spooked Uefa caved anyway and, five years later, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/championsleague" data-link-name="in body link" data-component="auto-linked-tag">Champions League</a> came into being.</p><p>But that was not enough, because it never is. First, it was more than one team from the richest countries – that’s now up to five in some cases – and now it’s the Swiss model format, which takes the Berlusconi rationale to it’s natural conclusion: lots of lucrative matches between the richest teams, without the jeopardy of elimination. Gabriel Hanot, who came up with the original idea of continental competition, would be crying bitter tears this very day, while the rest of us have no choice but to enjoy Real Madrid v Internazionale.</p><p>Which, of course, is ridiculously easily done, football a victim of its own nonpareil. There’s no shortage of interest in seeing whether José Mourinho, handed his latest last chance, has finally rediscovered the magic of his old self, while former acolyte, Cristian Chivu, is freshly installed at Inter, where his old boss did perhaps his best work</p><p>Nor is that all. We’ll also enjoy Dortmund – and, in particular, Konstantinos Karetsas, the 18-year-old midfielder who’s made a brilliant start to life at the Westfalen – against Villarreal, with updates from Porto v Manchester City and Lille v Real Betis. Quite what any of it means is unclear, but who needs context when you’ve got millions of eyeballs obsessing over potentially brilliant football?</p><p>And, on top of all that, we’ll keep you apprised of all the goings-on in the League Cup, so crack a can of Crypto, dip into your packet of energy, and settle in.</p><p><strong>Kick-offs:</strong> League Cup 7.45pm/8pm BST, Champions League 8pm BST</p></article><gu-island name="LiveBlogEpic" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"sectionId":"football","shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"tags":[{"id":"football/series/saturday-clockwatch","type":"Series","title":"Clockwatch"},{"id":"football/football","type":"Keyword","title":"Football"},{"id":"sport/sport","type":"Keyword","title":"Sport"},{"id":"football/championsleague","type":"Keyword","title":"Champions League"},{"id":"football/carabao-cup","type":"Keyword","title":"Carabao Cup"},{"id":"football/europeanfootball","type":"Keyword","title":"European club football"},{"id":"type/article","type":"Type","title":"Article"},{"id":"tone/minutebyminute","type":"Tone","title":"Minute by minute"},{"id":"tone/news","type":"Tone","title":"News"},{"id":"profile/danielharris","type":"Contributor","title":"Daniel Harris","twitterHandle":"DanielHarris","bylineImageUrl":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/4/5/1302019018185/Daniel_Harries.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=77f9c04e9d634a2facf48a99b9e65c5d"},{"id":"tracking/commissioningdesk/uk-sport","type":"Tracking","title":"UK Sport"},{"id":"tracking/audience/global","type":"Tracking","title":"Global"},{"id":"tracking/audience/uk","type":"Tracking","title":"UK"}],"isPaidContent":false,"contributionsServiceUrl":"https://contributions.guardianapis.com","pageId":"football/live/2026/sep/08/real-madrid-v-inter-millwall-v-newcastle-champions-league-and-carabao-cup-live","keywordIds":"football/football,sport/sport,football/championsleague,football/carabao-cup,football/europeanfootball","renderingTarget":"Web","isSensitive":false}"></gu-island></div></div>
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