Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-12 · by Graham Dunbar The Associated Press
The soccer schedule gods had a sense of humor making Manchester City’s return to the Champions League after a devastating verdict of financial rule-breaking a game against Paris Saint-Germain.
asserted
gods → have → Germain
Man City hosts title holder PSG on Wednesday in a standout meeting of Middle East state-backed clubs who were on parallel narratives for much of the past 15 years that now have wildly diverged.
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that → host → years
Barcelona is still Europe’s best team this season five weeks after the opening round of Champions League games and takes a run of nine straight wins to Galatasaray on Tuesday.
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Barcelona → take → Tuesday
Arsenal hosts Lille on Tuesday looking for a 14th straight win in the league phase across all three seasons of the current format.
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Arsenal → host → format
Bayern Munich also plays Tuesday, at Norwegian champion Viking, and Real Madrid has a Wednesday visit to one of coach José Mourinho’s former clubs Roma.
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Madrid → play → clubs
Tale of two cities between Manchester and Paris in Champions League
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had much in common before combining to win three of the past four Champions League titles.
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City → have → titles
They had won none in the previous 67 seasons of the marquee competition.
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They → win → competition
They were underachieving big city clubs transformed by soccer’s new wave of petrostate wealth: Man City in 2008 backed by Abu Dhabi’s royal family and a Qatari takeover of PSG in 2011.
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They → transform → 2011
Ambitious investment with sponsors from home created issues complying with UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules and both were fined 20 million euros ($22.4 million) in 2014.
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both → create → 2014
Each lost their first Champions League final — PSG to Bayern in 2020 and Man City the next year to Chelsea — then broke through in title games against Inter Milan led by coaches who previously won it with Barcelona.
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who → lose → Barcelona
Man City won in 2023 and PSG in 2025.
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City → win → 2025
Just months after Pep Guardiola left, Man City risks becoming a pariah after long-held suspicion about the club’s financial success was proven last month by a Premier League tribunal.
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suspicion → leave → tribunal
The pending sanctions could force years of Champions League exile for the club, which is appealing.
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which → pende → club
Man City connection to Gala vs. Barca
Rodri and Ilkay Gündoğan were the heart of Man City’s midfield in the 2023 final and the Spanish star scored the only goal in Istanbul to defeat Inter.
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star → score → Inter
On Tuesday they will be back in Istanbul but on opposite sides when Gündoğan and Turkish champion Galatasaray welcome Barcelona, having added Rodri in the offseason to an already powerful lineup.
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Gündoğan → welcome → lineup
Barcelona is averaging more than four goals scored per game this season, and started the Champions League beating Feyenoord 5-1.
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Barcelona → average → Feyenoord
Norway vs. Germany doubleheader, again
Viking and Bodø/Glimt are locked in a fascinating fight for the Norwegian league title that has eight more rounds to run until December.
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that → lock → December
They get a break in the Champions League from identical records in their domestic title race: Same numbers of points, wins, draws, losses, goals scored and conceded.
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They → get → points
Germany sends its two powers due north this week for testing games on artificial turf: Viking hosts Bayern Munich in Stavanger on Tuesday and Bodø /Glimt welcomes Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
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/Glimt → send → Wednesday
It’s back-to-back Norway-Germany duels after Bayern opened last month beating Bodø /Glimt 5-0 and Viking lost 3-1 at Stuttgart.
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Viking → ’ → Stuttgart
Shakhtar’s latest home away from home in London
Shakhtar Donetsk is making the first of four treks to play home games in London when it hosts AEK Athens at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.
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it → make → Bridge
Shakhtar has not played in Donetsk since the first Russian incursion there in 2014, and cannot play UEFA competition games in Ukraine during the full military invasion which began in February 2022.
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which → play → February
The Ukrainian champion is among three teams playing in borrowed home stadiums this week.
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champion → play → stadiums
The Real Betis stadium is being renovated and so Porto will be hosted Wednesday at La Cartuja stadium in Seville.
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Porto → renovate → Seville
That was used at the European Championship played in 2021 and likely will be a venue at the 2030 World Cup.
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That → use → Cup
Sabah plays Slavia Prague on Tuesday in Baku, at the 69,000-seat Olympic Stadium, because its home in the city of Masazir does not meet UEFA standards.
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home → play → standards
Atletico and Lille struggle with English opponents
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Atletico → struggle → opponents
This season’s final will be played at Atletico Madrid’s stadium on June 5 and the Metropolitano hosts its first game in this edition Tuesday, when Manchester United visit.
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United → play → edition
Atletico and Lille, which visits Arsenal on Tuesday, both have long winless runs in England — at least, before the knockout stage.
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which → visit → stage
Lille lost its last eight games away to English teams since a 0-0 draw 21 years ago at Man United in a Champions League group.
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Lille → lose → group
Atletico never won a Champions League main phase game against an English team in 11 attempts since 2008.
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Atletico → win → 2008
That changes in the knockout rounds.
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That → change → rounds
Coach Diego Simeone’s team routinely eliminates English teams — Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Man United, Tottenham — in the second half of the season.
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team → eliminate → season
The Aporia
