Real Madrid

Celtic's long-awaited return to the Champions League group stages sees the Scottish champions paired with Real Madrid on opening night in Glasgow.

— Starfelt, who missed Celtic's preseason programme with an issue he picked up on Sweden duty, has a knee problem.

Group G: Jude Bellingham was among the goals as Borussia Dortmund put their Danish visitors to the sword in Germany.

On his own shot hitting the woodwork in the first half: “I don’t know how it stayed out,” he says. “There was enough in the game to show we belong at this level. If you score that much you can get away with a little bit more but he knows, and we know, we can still do better.” Obviously it was a good performance, a good victory and it is nice to start it that way.” “You have to set a tone and I think we did that today. “These fans deserves to be competing against clubs like Real Madrid on a regular basis,” the Celtic manager says.

Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, will be absolutely rocking on Tuesday. For the first time since 2017-18, Celtic Football Club finds itself in the group ...

There’s no arguing that Real Madrid are deserving of their status as odds-on favorites over Celtic on Tuesday night, but this a tricky spot for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. You can only beat the team in front of you, but Madrid will always be expected to start 4-0-0 against Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol, and Real Betis. [Oddsmakers](https://nypost.com/article/best-sports-betting-apps-usa/) are a little more skeptical, however, as the Scottish side is currently priced as +400 home underdogs, while Real Madrid are odds-on at -165. The Scottish Premiership is not a very tough league (It’s ranked ninth in Europe between Austria and Russia), but it’s still worth noting that Celtic is off to an absolute blinding start in domestic play. First of all, this is a talented side that was largely unchanged from last season when they went on a 32-match unbeaten run to capture the Scottish Premiership. The lack of turnover has turned Celtic into a well-oiled machine under manager Ange Postecoglu, who is quickly gaining attention as one of Europe’s rising managers.

Follow the UCL Group F action live from Glasgow as Celtic face Real Madrid with a 3:00 pm (ET) start.

the final giving birth to the iconic 'Lisbon Lions' team! The current LaLiga holders have won 4/4 in the league with the trickiest test coming last Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu where they were too strong for early pace setters Real Betis with Vini Jr. There won't be an empty seat in the house tonight with 60,000 fans expected to cram into Celtic Park. What an impact the Australian coach has made at the Glasgow club .... Just 15 minutes ahead of kick-off and the atmosphere is already building at Celtic Park. This season, Real Madrid embark on a journey to win their 15th European crown. Sandro Schärer has been selected to officiate the Thursday night clash at Parkhead. Fede Valverde is the main danger man for Real Madrid on the right flank. that game also at the half time break Still a very open contest with both sides enjoying spells of possession. Vini Jr latches onto a Valverde assist and slots into the corner. Not a bit phased by the loss of Benzema it would appear.

Real Madrid shrugged off the loss of Karim Benzema to an early injury as the holders got their defence of the Champions League off to a winning start with a ...

Carlo Ancelotti said Karim Benzema's injury "doesn't seem serious" after the forward was forced off in Real Madrid's win at Celtic.

[Vinicius Junior](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/252107/vinicius-junior) opened the scoring in the 56th minute of the group F opener before Hazard played in [Luka Modric](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/76762/Luka-Modric) to double Madrid's lead and then the Belgian wrapped up the scoring himself, dispatching Dani Carvajal's cut back. [Thibaut Courtois](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/134283/Thibaut-Courtois) told Movistar. Today he came on and did well, let's hope he carries on like that." Once he got up to the speed of the game he was important for us." "It's been his physical condition, his injuries. A perfect game for him."

Celtic return to the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2017/18 with defending champions Real Madrid heading to Glasgow for their season ...

[DAZN](http://www.dazn.com/en-CA/welcome/) Tues, Sep 6 Paramount +/ Celtic play host to Real Madrid at Celtic Park in Glasgow, UK. BT Sport website/app BT Sport 1, BT Sport 3

France striker Karim Benzema was substituted with an apparent knee injury in Real Madrid's 3-0 win against Celtic in the group stage of the Champions ...

Madrid also won the Spanish league last season. “But we have to wait for the tests tomorrow. The 34-year-old Benzema is coming off his best season ever, when he was the leading scorer both in the Champions League and the Spanish league.

Following Real Madrid's victory over Celtic in the sides' Champions League Matchday 1 encounter, Thibaut Courtois spoke to the media to offer this thoughts: ...

When I picked up the ball from a corner, I sent it up to him quickly and that was when he felt something in the knee. It’s a pleasure to have played here and to be coming away with the win”. “When I played here with Atlético in the Europa League, the atmosphere was unbelievable. The goal and the assist show what he’s all about. We were better after the break. Had they scored early on, it would have been more of a struggle for us.”

Shaun Maloney analyses Celtic's defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League - and finds they didn't do a lot wrong.

The 39-year-old has had opportunities to return to coaching recently in Scotland and in England but they were not right for him. The team is still very much committed to Ange’s philosophy as you can see from the team high-pressing here in the 90th minute and still having a real go. Celtic are a well-organised and creative outfit but even so, Real Madrid are capable of turning the screw when it matters the most. “They’ve tried to press but Madrid have had Kroos, Modric and Aurelien Tchouameni rotating in there at times. No wonder the fans and the manager have such a connection. As a Celtic player, he remembers the never-say-die attitude when playing in green and white. And so it turns out, as a third, this time from Hazard — who has played a big part in all three goals — wraps up a 3-0 win. He plays it into Hazard and then the level of the player comes through. I watched this particular drill numerous times which the team had worked on over and over and decided to change shape to a 4-4-1-1 a day before the game. We decided to press in a zonal structure in a way that, whatever happened, we would always have a three-vs-three situation in that wide area instead of a man less.” Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Rangers is also fresh in the memory but a substitution after 30 minutes quickly highlights the difficulties they face against this particular opponent. For Maloney, a week of planning went into stopping the Scottish champions, who, since that day, had scored in all 19 games until the European champions came to Glasgow.

All of Madrid's attacking eggs are in the Benzema basket again - if he's out for a while, could Hazard prove his Bernabeu doubters wrong?

Robert Lewandowski was always joining [Barcelona](https://theathletic.com/football/team/fc-barcelona/) from Bayern Munich. A lot is expected of the Brazilian this year and although he missed the start of the season with a hamstring issue, he came back to hit the winner against Real Betis at the weekend. It was a reminder of how pretty much all the club’s attacking eggs are in the Benzema basket again. He capped his evening by scoring a rare Madrid goal, being in the right place at the right time to finish from Dani Carvajal’s cross. “It’s never been a problem of talent (for Eden), but of fitness, injuries, and sometimes maybe how much he wanted it,” Kroos said, carefully choosing his words. Early in the Celtic game, however, Benzema began to hold his right knee after feeling something as he tried to sprint on the counter-attack. [Erling Haaland](https://theathletic.com/football/player/erling-haaland-UqdITFAwdmIrBQfd/) had been of interest, but his transfer to [Manchester City](https://theathletic.com/football/team/manchester-city/) was official by then. There was faith in his physical reliability — he had played more than 3,500 club minutes in each of the previous four seasons. He is deservedly the front-runner: his 15 goals in 12 games helped Madrid win last season’s Champions League, while domestically his 27 goals and 12 assists also led his team to the It was normal for a player who turns 35 in December to ease his way into this The plan was to trust in Benzema’s ability and durability. An over-dependence on Benzema, and the lack of any real backup for him, is the one glaring problem with an otherwise deep squad.

The game was tied at 0-0 at that point, with surprisingly, the Scottish giants the better side. Los Blancos would take control in the second half and win 3-0.

Now, it remains to be seen if he is back stronger when he does complete his return from what looks to have been a minor injury picked up against Celtic. The first scan doesn’t seem like anything very serious, but we have to wait until tomorrow. The Frenchman is a very important part of this team and there is no real back up for him up top at the moment.

Following tests carried out on our player Karim Benzema by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the semitendinosus ...

As per the latest reports from AS, Real Madrid will be without club captain and ace goalscorer Karim Benzema for their upcoming La Liga clash against RCD ...

[Eden Hazard is likely to get the nod in the No. It would effectively rule him out of the weekend’s La Liga clash against RCD Mallorca and the subsequent Champions League clash versus RB Leipzig. The champions of Spain and Europe do not have a natural centre-forward to cover for Benzema, having failed to sign anyone in the summer. But the form that Hazard displayed at Celtic Park will come as somewhat as a relief for Los Blancos. However, it looks like the 34-year-old superstar will be unable to recover in time for Real Madrid’s upcoming La Liga clash. Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 win over Celtic in their UEFA Champions League opener at Parkhead on Tuesday.

Karim Benzema is set to be sidelined for a month with a quad injury, sources have told ESPN.

His recovery will continue to be assessed." [France](/soccer/team?id=478) striker out for a month meaning he is set to miss Madrid's second Champions League group stage match against [RB Leipzig](/soccer/team?id=11420). [Karim Benzema](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/46858/Karim-Benzema) is set to be sidelined for a month with the quad injury he sustained during [Real Madrid](/soccer/team?id=86)'s Champions League group stage match against [Celtic](/soccer/team?id=256), sources have told ESPN.

Racing Louisville FC and Real Madrid have agreed on a transfer for Freja Olofsson, sending the midfielder to the prestigious Spanish club in exchange for a ...

I wish Freja all the best in the future, and she is always welcome back Louisville." "Freja is a hardworking player that has been very popular in the group, and we will miss her a lot," said Racing coach Björkegren, a fellow Swede. "Since her arrival, Freja has been an exemplary professional and is someone we all hold in very high esteem," said Racing president James O'Connor. I've had a great relationship with everyone." "But as a European, I also understand how momentous it is to get an offer from one of largest clubs in the world, Real Madrid. Olofsson appeared in 46 matches for Racing over two seasons, starting 37 times. "I feel very happy, very glad and very honored to have been a part of Racing Louisville, such a special place," Olofsson said. As a women's soccer player, it's hard to find that. 8 role during the current campaign. 6 holding midfield duty in her first year before shifting to a further-forward No. Racing Louisville FC midfielder Freja Olofsson Racing Louisville FC and Real Madrid have agreed on a transfer for Freja Olofsson, sending the midfielder to the prestigious Spanish club in exchange for a fee, it was announced Wednesday.