United's Champions League fixtures so far, where they stand after the opening game, and a plain-English guide to the league-phase format.
Manchester United are back in the Champions League in 2026/27. This guide lists their fixtures and explains how the competition's league phase decides who goes through.
United's league-phase matches so far
| Matchday | Date | Match | Result / kick-off (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 Sep | Manchester United v Sabah FA | 4-0 (home) |
| 2 | Tue 13 Oct | Atletico Madrid v Manchester United | 20:00 |
| 3 | Wed 21 Oct | Como v Manchester United | 17:45 |
| 4 | Tue 3 Nov | Manchester United v AS Roma | 20:00 (home) |
| 5 | Wed 25 Nov | Sporting CP v Manchester United | 20:00 |
| 6 | Tue 8 Dec | Manchester United v RB Leipzig | 20:00 (home) |
United have two league-phase games still to be shown after these, later in the season. After one game they sit fourth in the 36-team table with three points, thanks to the win over Sabah.
How the league phase works
One big table. All 36 clubs are ranked together in a single league table.
Eight games each. Every club plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away, instead of playing every team.
Top eight go straight through. Teams that finish first to eighth qualify directly for the round of 16.
Ninth to 24th play off. They go into a two-legged knockout play-off to decide who joins them.
25th to 36th are out. They are eliminated from the competition.
Why finishing high matters
Finishing in the top eight skips the play-off round and means fewer games, which matters when United are also playing in the Premier League. Follow the live positions and every match on our matches page, and see all the dates, including the Premier League games in between, in our October fixtures guide.