Real Madrid enter the 2026-27 Champions League campaign under a familiar face, but with a new challenge ahead of them. The Spanish giants have welcomed back the ‘Special One’ José Mourinho for a second spell in charge, more than a decade later. The Portuguese manager returns with the task of restoring Madrid to the summit again after two trophyless seasons and few competitions will carry greater significance than the Champions League, a tournament the club has won a record 15 times, including lifting it as recently as 2024, before the dominance of PSG began. Mourinho has already spoken about the emotional significance of returning to the Bernabéu, describing the club as ‘coming home’, with the club going for a huge squad overhaul by spending massively in the summer.
However, the nostalgia will quickly give way to business when his side begins their European campaign. The 2026-27 League Phase has handed Real Madrid a fascinating set of opponents, including several familiar European names and several intriguing reunions for their Portuguese boss. Inter Milan, AS Roma. RB Leipzig, AEK Athens, PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal, LASK and Shakhtar Donetsk will produce quite a complex schedule of heavyweight encounters, extreme travel and tricky clashes. Knowing a two or three about winning the Champions League after lifting the title twice with the Nerazzurri and Porto, Mourinho will be determined to repeat it with the best club in the history of the competition and the only silverware he didn’t win in his first stint.
Here is a closer look at Real Madrid's Champions League 2026-27 opponents and fixtures:
Inter (H)
The first of the two reunions against Mourinho’s former employees comes in their opening game of the 2026-27 League Phase campaign, when Real Madrid face Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu. The 2010 Champions League winner achieved the triumph under the Portuguese boss in a historic treble-winning season and it is the first time the ‘Special One’ will face the Nerazzurri with a non-Italian club since leaving the role there. Inter have gone on to reach two more finals in this competition since then but hit a low in the first season under Christian Chivu, where they didn’t even reach the last-16 stage and were eliminated by the surprise package Bodo Glimt in the knockout playoffs. Even though their domestic dominance was restored, the Serie A champions will be desperate to turn things around in Europe. That will be a tall task, though, as Chivu’s men have not won this fixture in the Spanish capital or even taken a point since 1967. But that does not guarantee an all-smile scenario for Mourinho’s current side, as it will be a tough beginning.
AS Roma (A)
The record champions will then travel to Italy to face another Mourinho-managed team in consecutive games, in the form of AS Roma. Like Inter, the now 63-year-old gave the Giallorossi unforgettable memories by winning their first European title in the 2021-22 season with the Conference League title. He stayed close to three years in the Italian capital and will be returning to the Olimpico as the opposition manager for the first time since leaving the club, with an unpredictable reception. Madrid have a good record at the venue, losing just once of their previous six visits here and conceding just twice, none in the last two. With overall eight wins to three, they will be favourites to take three points here, but the hosts are turning out to be a side to watch out for under Gian Piero Gasperini, having broken their dry spell in qualifying for the competition again, even though he has lost all his four duels with the Los Blancos as Atalanta boss.
RB Leipzig (H)
Another familiar opposition that Real Madrid have crossed paths with recently in their second home game of the League Phase is RB Leipzig. The German club is returning to the competition after a season-long absence and finishing all the way down to 32nd in the inaugural edition of the new format. They will be looking to turn their fortunes around this time, although they have a tricky start. In the three meetings against Los Blancos, the side now managed by Martín Demichelis has lost twice, including failing to beat them at Bernabéu. However, they have given stiff competition each time, including holding eventual winners Real Madrid to a draw in the last meeting in the 2023-24 season in the last-16 stage, but a loss in the first leg meant they were eliminated. This could also turn out to be a tricky fixture to handle.
AEK Athens (A)
After an intense start, Real Madrid will have a bit of a favourable schedule in November, starting with a trip to Athens to face AEK. The Greek champions are making a return to the main stage of the competition after a five-year absence, and remarkably, they are opponents that the La Liga giants have never beaten in their history. In the only two meetings that took place back in the group stage of the 2002-03 season, AEK held the Los Blancos home and away in absolute goal-fests. The first meeting ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw in Athens, with the reverse leg at Madrid witnessing two apiece from both teams. However, it is unlikely such a scenario will play out again, as this fixture is expected to be one of the easiest on paper for Mourinho’s men, although they will face a hostile atmosphere at the AEK Arena.
PSV Eindhoven (H)
Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven will be the third visitors at the Santiago Bernabéu in the League Phase this season in the final gameweek of November. This will be the first meeting between the sides in the competition after 37 years, with Real Madrid winning the previous meeting between the sides 2-1 after extra time in the quarterfinal second leg, also played at home, to progress 3-2 on aggregate and eliminate the then-holders. Yet, that remains the only victory managed by the Los Blancos, as all the other meetings with the Dutch side ended in a stalemate. Even with the tricky bit of the side upsetting many top sides in the last League Phase campaign, anything less than three points will be disappointing. With home advantage and Mourinho's experience of navigating the latter stages of this competition, Madrid will be expected to make the most of this fixture and strengthen their position in the League Phase standings.
Arsenal (A)
The toughest challenge for Mourinho’s team in the League Phase will come next as they face Premier League champions Arsenal at the Emirates in their final Champions League match of the year. The Gunners were finalists in the previous edition of the competition and have established themselves as one of Europe's strongest sides under Mikel Arteta, making this a particularly demanding test for Mourinho's new-look Madrid. Moreover, they are one of the few sides in the competition that Los Blancos have failed to beat. In fact, they have lost three of the four meetings they have had, including the famous Round of 16 elimination in the 2005-06 season with Thierry Henry silencing Bernabéu and the most recent meeting at the Emirates last year, where a stunning double free-kick from Declan Rice claimed a 3-0 win to dump the then-holders out of the competition. Madrid will therefore have another opportunity to settle an old score in London, but this fixture could have a major bearing on where they finish in the League Phase.
LASK (H)
After the trip to the English capital, Real Madrid will return home to face Austrian side LASK in their penultimate League Phase fixture, also their first Champions League game of the New Year. It is a historic occasion for the visitors, who are appearing in the Champions League League Phase for the first time after a dramatic comeback in the qualifying playoff, where they overturned a 3-0 loss at Glasgow against Celtic to win 5-1 at home following extra time to progress, becoming the first side in history to win a tie at this round from 4-0 down. They will make their first competitive trip to the Santiago Bernabéu. The two clubs have never previously met in European competition, meaning Mourinho's side will enter unfamiliar territory despite being overwhelming favourites on paper. LASK will have nothing to lose against the 15-time European champions, but Madrid will see this as an ideal opportunity to collect another three points before their final assignment and put themselves in a strong position ahead of the knockout stages.
Shakhtar Donetsk (A)
Real Madrid's League Phase campaign will conclude with a second trip to London to face Shakhtar Donetsk on 28 January 2027 and it will produce another fascinating tale around their manager Mourinho. Even though Chelsea, with whom the Portuguese showed his class in England, is not in the Champions League this season, their stadium, Stamford Bridge, is being used by the Ukrainian champions as their home base for the competition due to the ongoing war in their country. That means Mourinho will make a poetic return to the Bridge having already faced two of his former sides in the League Phase. The fixture will be important even if it is not against the Blues, as bring an intriguing end to Madrid's first phase of the competition and could prove crucial in determining whether they advance directly or not, considering they are big enough to escape the first stage of the competition. Shakhtar can trouble them and with the final League Phase position potentially still at stake, Mourinho's men cannot afford to underestimate this battle.
Wednesday, 9 September 2026
Real Madrid vs Inter - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (00:30)
Thursday, 15 October 2026
AS Roma vs Real Madrid - Stadio Olimpico, Rome (00:30)
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (00:30)
Wednesday, 4 November 2026
AEK Athens vs Real Madrid - Agia Sophia Stadium, Athens (23:15)
Wednesday, 25 November 2026
Real Madrid vs PSV Eindhoven - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (01:30)
Thursday, 10 December 2026
Arsenal vs Real Madrid - Emirates Stadium, London (01:30)
Wednesday, 20 January 2027
Real Madrid vs LASK - Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (01:30)
Thursday, 28 January 2027
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid - Stamford Bridge, London (01:30)