Since the new 36-team Swiss model format in the form of a League Phase was introduced in the Champions League from last season, it has served up more upsets than having the usual heavyweights dominate as expected. While top teams have maintained their say regardless, the competition has served more underdog tales, especially giant-killing results. The inaugural edition of the new format displayed a lot of shocking results, but the 2025-26 season bettered the last, making the League Phase more unpredictable than ever. Even teams playing in the competition for the first time have registered historical miraculous results that will stay forever in the memories of their fans and add to the magic of the premier European contest. In this article, we look at some of the shocking results witnessed in the League Phase of the 2025-26 Champions League season:
Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool (Round 2)
The first major, shocking result in the second round of the League Phase games in the 2025-26 Champions League came when Liverpool travelled to Turkey to face Galatasaray. While the Aslan are not minnows by any stretch, with history in the competition and are the defending champions of their domestic league with a 25th title in their bag, the visiting six-time Champions League winners losing against them so easily makes it a very surprising outcome of the clash. The Reds saw their bright start to their campaign ended by Crystal Palace in the Premier League a game ago, so they were desperate to get back to winning ways here. However, the hosts were determined to make a special evening for themselves, starting with intensity and testing Liverpool’s keeper Alisson earlier on. The visitors weren’t laid back either, with Hugo Ekitike warming the gloves of the opposition’s number one Ugurcan Cakir, whereas Cody Gakpo’s effort was cleared off the line by Ismail Jakobs.
Yet, it was the host that stole the show with Baris Yilmaz involved in the crucial moment of the match, earning a spot-kick inside 15 minutes after Dominik Szoboszlai fouled him inside the box. The ever-firing Victor Osimhen made no mistake in dispatching his penalty past Alisson to stun the English giants. Liverpool maximised their effort to find the leveller, but Cakir remained a brick wall, denying Florian Wirtz's effort soon after. Arne Slot’s side was then dealt a huge blow when their Brazilian shot-stopper went off injured, making a one-on-one save against the Nigerian goalmachine who could have put the Turkish side 2-0 up at halftime. That could have been costly as Liverpool nearly found a way back into the game late on when the referee pointed to the spot, after Ibrahim Konate looked to have been clipped by Wilfried Singo, only to change his decision after consulting with VAR. The guests could not avoid experiencing another loss as Gala celebrated their first home win in the Champions League since 2018.
PSV Eindhoven 6-2 Napoli (Round 3)
Another shocking result came in the League Phase third round, when Napoli visited Eindhoven, Netherlands, to face PSV. The Serie A winners under Antonio Conte were the favourites for the tie and looked to be taking care of business when the team’s talisman, Scott McTominay, put them ahead only half an hour into the game. But the Eredivisie holders had other ideas as they went on to decimate the visitors. They already troubled the Partenepoi earlier and managed to equalise five minutes later with Ivan Perisic’s teasing cross, unintentionally headed by Alessandro Buongiorno into his own net. It gave them huge motivation, as moments later, they were in the lead with their Moroccan star Ismael Saibari finishing off a quick counter.
Three goals were scored in seven minutes, but the real mayhem began after halftime. The solidity accustomed to Conte’s side was nowhere to be seen as PSV tore apart their defence with their sublime attack. Five minutes into the second half and the hosts were 3-1 up with Dennis Man finding the corner. It went from bad to worse for Napoli as their striker, Lorenzo Lucca, was sent off for his descent at the official. Just four minutes after his dismissal, the Italian side got rattled again with a fourth strike from PSV as Man completed his brace with a thunderous strike. Despite McTominay getting his second of the evening, the host did not stop their scoring spree with successive strikes from Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech putting the visitors out of their misery in one of their special European nights in history.
Manchester City 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen (Round 5)
Before their fifth match, Manchester City were flying in the League Phase campaign with three wins and a draw, including a 4-1 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad. So, when they faced another Bundesliga club in successive fixtures and in their star manager Pep Guardiola's 100th Champions League match in charge of the Manchester-based club, another dominating performance was expected to carry forward their excellent momentum. It was understandable because Bayer Leverkusen picked up their first win in the Champions League season only a game ago, having drawn twice and losing heavily to holders PSG. Yet, they managed to tear the expected script and end a long drought. City have not lost to a German club at home in the Champions League since 2013, when Guardiola himself led his former club Bayern Munich to a 3-1 win, but that record got broken in an unexpected fixture.
The home team lost to Newcastle United domestically a match ago and made 10 changes for this midweek tie, including benching Erling Haaland. The decision hit back as the German club played with confidence against a starting eleven that had not played together often. Despite that, the host started on the front foot with Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders both coming close to giving them the lead, but Mark Flekken was equal to the task. That motivated the visitors as they went to the other side to get the lead in the 23rd minute, with star man Alejandro Grimaldo finding the bottom corner. Flekken continued his excellent evening in frustrating City before his side doubled the advantage early in the second half as Patrick Schick headed past James Trafford. Haaland, eventually coming off the bench, failed to provide any impact as the German shot-stopper remained firm in his business, helping his side see off a memorable win at the Etihad.
Liverpool 1-4 PSV Eindhoven (Round 5)
PSV would pick up another huge result, stunning the Premier League champions this time in their fifth game of the League Phase. Liverpool bounced back from that disappointing loss to Galatasaray in the second round of games with a 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt and a sublime 1-0 victory against Real Madrid. But little did they expect that their problems would come back to bite them in the worst possible way when they hosted the Dutch league champions at Anfield. The Reds had suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to title rivals Manchester City and a humiliating loss in the same margin against relegation battlers Nottingham Forest at home, leading to more tension in the dressing room. The visitors took advantage of the situation and, with their promising form, delivered a historic bashing. The Eredivisie leaders carved open the Red’s defence with their lethal counter, but their opening goal came from the spot.
Virgil Van Dijk handled the ball from a corner inside just six minutes, with the evergreen Ivan Perisic slotting the penalty coolly to the home support's dismay. Yet, they were given a moment to celebrate by Szoboszlai, who found the equaliser 10 minutes later from a saved Gakpo effort, with both teams levelled at half-time 1-1. However, any thought of a comeback was brushed aside as Slot’s men capitulated in the second half. After Van Dijk crashed off the crossbar as Liverpool’s final prominent chance of the game, PSV took charge with Guus Til helping them retake the lead in the 56th minute. Ibrahima Konate’s awful defending let Couhaib Driouech to slot home after Ricardo Pepi hit the post, with the former completing his brace as the last dagger to the home side’s chest, who left the field with jeers and boos at full time.
Sporting CP 2-1 PSG (Round 7)
The penultimate round of the League Phase games in the 2025-26 Champions League also saw two more shocking results that could have huge implications for each club’s standings in the 36-teaṁ table. Holders Paris Saint-Germain went to Portugal in the hope of a victory against Sporting CP, that will almost confirm the top eight spot for them, hence entering the Round of 16 directly. The Ligue 1 giants collected four wins, one draw and suffered just one loss ahead of their sixth match in the competition this season, making them hopeful of their chances. However, as the new format has shown so far, it has been a hotbed of surprises and Luis Enrique’s side became the latest victim of it. On the other hand, it opened up the chance for the Portuguese league winners to sneak into the top eight.
Aside from a loss to Bayern Munich, Sporting CP remained unbeaten in this League Phase and did not lose a single game at home. Hence, the Lisbon-based side was very much motivated to give the defending champions a tough time. That being said, Enrique’s men displayed the mettle that made them champions and were unfortunate to see Fabian Ruiz’s opener just past the hour mark ruled out for a foul in the buildup. Goalkeeper Rui Silva was in action by then, saving Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Senny Mayulu’s effort. PSG left frustrated again when they found the net for the second time, but Ousmane Dembele seemed to have handled the ball and also fouled Silva before Mendes slotted in. This, coupled with the Parisians' inability to break Sporting’s defence before half-time, enabled the home side to push for a result in the latter period.
A third PSG goal scored by the Balon d’Or winner was ruled out for offside early after the break, as frustration continued for the holders, which multiplied when the home side took the lead against the run of play in the 74th minute. Luis Suarez, not to be confused with the Uruguayan star, got lucky with a deflection from a blocked effort falling kindly to his path and he put it past Lucas Chevalier, staying onside. Yet only four minutes later got back into the game when star winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia produced a stunning curler to level things up. Just as the tie was heading to a draw, which would have been more advantageous to the visitors, Suarez popped up again with the game-winner, nodding in the saved effort from Trincao to send the home support into frenzy.
Bodo Glimt 3-1 Manchester City (Round 7)
Probably the most surprising result in the League Phase of the 2025-26 Champions League also came in the penultimate round when Champions League debutants Bodo Glimt hosted Manchester City in Norway. The four-time Norwegian champions have been a revelation in European competition as well. Especially at home, where they have made a habit of slewing the giants of the continent using the climate and the advantage of astro turf. However, no success came close to what the side pulled off against the most dominant Premier League side in the recent decade. To be fair, City weren’t hitting their top gear in the last two years for various reasons and lost the Manchester derby before entering this Champions League encounter. Guardiola’s side also had all of their senior center-back injured that caused a major crisis.
Regardless, almost nobody predicted the Sky Blues to perform catastrophically against a team they expected to beat all day. Glimt showed their magic in their fortress, dislodging City with their pacey, intense football. The hero of their success was Kasper Hogh, who scored a stunning first-half brace, both provided by Ole Didrik Blomberg. Jens Petter Hauge then scored a screamer in the 58th minute to leave the opposition stunned and outclassed. Rayan Cherki managed to pull one back, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Rodri was sent off after receiving two bookings in the space of 53 seconds, adding to the misery. Erling Haaland’s return to his home nation was only marked by frustration as the side, whose budget is the same as City’s record winter signing, Antone Semenyo, picked up a seismic result.
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