The Matchday Man

Beyond desperate for 2028 to be the one, so it can be for him.

Sint-Truiden 🇧🇪 are a lower-profile Belgian Club, best known nowadays for their Japanese ownership and development of Japanese players. A phenomenal 3rd place Pro League finish last season hands them a first European campaign since 2003, and a first in something other than the Intertoto Cup. A #UEL Play-Off Round defeat to Omonoia 🇨🇾 ultimately leaves them in the #UECL League Phase, but they've begun it as one of just eight teams on the maximum of 6 points, and almost ensured of knockout football already. Tonight's result, a well-fought 1-0 win away at FC Midtjylland 🇩🇰, one of the standout teams from the early rounds of last season's Europa League!

That's the Celje I know

A 1-0 home loss to Red Bull Salzburg 🇦🇹 on #UEL Matchday 1 A 1-1 away draw with NEC 🇳🇱 on UEL Matchday 2 A 2-1 away win against Viktoria Plzeň 🇨🇿 on Matchday 3 Levski Sofia 🇧🇬, who ended Ludogoret's near world-record title streak in 2026, have returned to Group Phase football for the first time since 2010, and picked up their first Main Stage win since beating Sporting CP 🇵🇹 1-0 on 16 December 2010!

An absolute mauling in Norway, Lillestrøm 🇳🇴 thrashed by Real Sociedad 🇪🇸 in the #UEL League Phase. It's a silly scoreline in the end, but there is some context that may help justify it. Whilst Sociedad are experienced European campaigners, Lillestrøm are a Main Stage debutant. They made a European return after 4 years this August, qualifying by winning the 2025 Norwegian Cup in a season where they also won the second tier title unbeaten. Top half in the Eliteserien in 2026, but with some needed changes from the 2025 campaign, their general quality is going to be different to that of a La Liga outfit. A game that they've certainly allowed to slip away from them though. 1/9 points for Lillestrøm 🇳🇴 so far, 4/9 for Real Sociedad 🇪🇸

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 🇩🇪 are not yet a seasoned European campaigner. It's only a 5th total continental season for the Sinsheim outfit, three previous #UEL Group Stages/League Phases and one previous #UCL Group Stage, reaching the knockouts just once, the 20-21 UEL. Having begun this League Phase with two defeats, tonight has given Hoffenheim their best European result for nearly 6 years. A strong second half has put them out of sight against an Olympique Lyonnais 🇫🇷 team who had begun with two wins!

19 years ago, in 2007-08: -AFC Bournemouth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 entered administration, getting relegated from League One down to League Two. -Milan 🇮🇹 were reigning Champions League holders, adding a UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to their cabinet. Just look where we are now... #UEL

Followers of this season's #UECL are firmly expected to have Trabzonspor 🇹🇷 on their radar. The biggest Turkish force based outside or Istanbul, the Black Sea club's squad includes the likes of Fabinho 🇧🇷, Ernest Muçi 🇦🇱, Franculino 🇬🇼, Stefan Savić 🇲🇪, André Onana 🇨🇲, Paul Onuachu 🇳🇬, Sidney Lopes Cabral 🇨🇻 and Mohamed Salah 🇪🇬 It is worth mentioning, they weren't intending to be here. It was a #UEL Play-Off Round start as Turkish Cup holders, instantly dumped out after being pumped 5-0 on aggregate by Ferencváros 🇭🇺 Hopes and expectations increased higher in a more minor competition. Whilst it's still worth staying cautious about just how far they go, the start to their League Phase has been strong. Trabzonspor 🇹🇷's firepower has got them an eventful 4-2 win away to Kuopion Palloseura 🇫🇮 and a 2-0 home victory over Heart of Midlothian 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Pleasing to see them maximise two favourable games as they target a high LP finish.

History made tonight at Encamp, with Inter Club d'Escaldes 🇦🇩 becoming the first Andorran team to host a game in a UEFA Group Stage or League Phase. A first #UECL goal for the debutants, but a deserved away win. Potentially precious too for Romanian champions Universitatea Craiova 🇷🇴. They're in this League Phase for a second straight season, hoping to right some wrongs. U Craiova ended the 2025 edition by conceding the final goal of the entire League Phase, a 104th minute penalty away to AEK Athens 🇬🇷. That goal dropped them down to 25th place in the giant table, and left them missing out on the KPOs to Sigma Olomouc 🇨🇿 because they'd scored one less goal than them. 7 total points last League Phase, this and a 1-1 home draw with Getafe 🇪🇸 last week leaves them already on 4, with 4 games still to play...

Bullish FC Lugano 🇨🇭 #UECL backers, rejoice. The club from the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland are having a stellar 26-27. In a brand new stadium, already six points clear at the top of the Swiss Super League, and now 2/2 in the UECL League Phase. After a late turnaround with Crvena zvezda 🇷🇸 last week, they fell behind early tonight against Getafe 🇪🇸, but have proceeded to then punish them ruthlessly at the Coliseum. A 5-2 hammering of their inexperienced La Liga opponents. Mattia Croci-Torti 🇨🇭's team are still yet to lose a game this season...

SK Sturm Graz 🇦🇹 have had two home games so far this #UEL League Phase, facing French opposition both times. A goalless draw with Stade Rennais 🇫🇷 on Matchday 1. They've tonight stolen possession high to punish and beat Olympique de Marseille 🇫🇷, moving them onto 4/9 points as they hunt the Europa League's knockout rounds for the very first time. Marseille meanwhile, still without a point, and enduring a difficult season...

I will keep banging the drum, AZ 🇳🇱 are a must-watch this latest European campaign. Underrated for their development of both homegrown and imported players, the KNVB Beker holders come into the #UEL League Phase on the back of a good #UECL campaign in 25-26. A respectable effort away to Sunderland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 on Matchday 1, the Alkmaar outfit are now into their free-flowing groove. Victory over Hapoel Be'er Sheva 🇮🇱 last week, they've now smashed Ararat-Armenia 🇦🇲 in Yerevan to move onto 6/9 points.

It's Matchday 3 of the #UEL League Phase. Among the group sat with a perfect 3/3, Ferencváros 🇭🇺 The Budapest heavyweights are a very familiar name, but still generally underappreciated for how competitive they can be in UEFA football, especially in their own district. Testing SC Braga 🇵🇹 in last season's knockout rounds, the push for another run has got off to a flying start. Clinical quality to shown to win away to Celtic 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 on Matchday 1, Balâzs Borbély's side have since followed that up with home wins over Viktoria Plzeň 🇨🇿 and SCU Torreense 🇵🇹

This time last year, FC Kairat 🇰🇿 were enjoying the glamour of the #UCL League Phase. 12 months is a long time in football. They are now on the cusp of losing their two-year Kazakh title streak, and down in the #UECL League Phase for late 2026. Not only are there are a lot less eyes on them, they look nowhere near as good as they did before. Holding Riga FC 🇱🇻 to a 1-1 draw last week on Matchday 1, Kairat have returned to a reduced crowd at their Central Stadium for Matchday 2. This was a place they looked formidable at against mid-rung European oppnents last season. Panathinaikos 🇬🇷 have come to Almaty on a cold Thursday evening, and slapped them. Dominance from early on for the Greek heavyweights, ahead in just 6 minutes and adding further with a Cyriel Dessers 🇳🇬 brace, a great free-kick from Kings Kangwa 🇿🇲, and a ruthless finish from Elmin Rastoder 🇲🇰. This is Panathinaikos 🇬🇷's biggest ever European Group Stage win. The Shamrock's European pedigree makes you want to have them as a candidate for a good knockout run. They played in this competition 2 years ago, coming 13th in the inaugural League Phase and ultimately exiting to back-to-back finalists Fiorentina 🇮🇹 in the Round of 16. Panathinaikos 🇬🇷 didn't get their first win until Matchday 4 in 24-25. Two games into the 25-26 edition, they're already on 6 points...

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Europa Thursdays: Part 3 Matchday 3 of the #UEL, Matchday 2 of the #UECL. Among the upcoming highlights: Juventus 🇮🇹 v Stade Rennais 🇫🇷 OFI 🇬🇷 v Bayer 04 Leverkusen 🇩🇪 Beşiktaş 🇹🇷 v Crystal Palace 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 AFC Bournemouth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 v Milan 🇮🇹 Omonoia 🇨🇾 v Benfica 🇵🇹 Jablonec 🇨🇿 v Brighton and Hove Albion 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Crvena zvezda 🇷🇸 v FC København 🇩🇰 Ajax 🇳🇱 v Atalanta 🇮🇹 SC Braga 🇵🇹 v Gent 🇧🇪 AS Monaco 🇫🇷 v SC Freiburg 🇩🇪 All that to come, but before that, one extra-early kick-off. As you'd probably expect, it's out in Kazakhstan. FC Kairat 🇰🇿 may be evidence of how big the Champions League spotlight is on you when compared to the other competitions. The Almaty outfit were the best story of qualifying last season, winning a tie in all four rounds, built around a home record where they didn't concede a goal, making it all the way to a debut League Phase as a result. Casual UCL followers may not even be aware that Kairat are spending another winter in League Phase football. After retaining the Premier League title in 2025 (they've got 2 games left to make up a 4-point gap if they want to retain it again in 2026), Kairat returned to the UCL First Qualifying Round last July. A possible chance of repeating last season's heroics, but they only got half-way this time. Wins over FK Sutjeska 🇲🇪 and Omonoia 🇨🇾 sent them to the 3QR, guaranteeing more League Phase football. Levski Sofia 🇧🇬 ended their UCL repeat hopes with a home-and-away double over them though. FC Kairat 🇰🇿 then dropped into the Europa League for the Play-Off Round, smashed 6-0 on aggregate by RSC Anderlecht 🇧🇪. That previously impenetrable European home record has well and truly gone. It leaves Kairat in the shorter UECL League Phase for 26-27, much mess glamour, but a lot more opportunity for knockout qualification. Kairat began last week with an away draw, 1-1 against debutants Riga FC 🇱🇻, initially ahead but pulled back level and then spared by a penalty miss. It's a kick-off of 19:30 local time tonight at their Central Stadium, facing a very familiar name. Panathinaikos 🇬🇷 got the Europa League's Round of 16 just last season, but have got exclusively Conference League this time after only coming 4th in the Super League. They're back in a competition they made the Round of 16 of 2 seasons ago, and much like two years ago, they began their League Phase against the Bosnian champions Borac Banja Luka 🇧🇦. A game at home this time rather than away, and a 2-1 win rather than a 1-1 draw...