Champions League returns: Key battles coming up in Matchday 1

The 2024-25 Champions League begins on Tuesday, Sept. 17, with 18 games scheduled to take place over a three-day period. Here are the key games worth following in Matchday 1:

AC Milan vs. Liverpool, Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET

Longtime viewers of the Champions League will remember this matchup from the 2005 final. Milan led the match 3-0 at halftime, but Liverpool fought back in dramatic fashion to tie the game at 3-3 before winning on penalties. 

It was one of the wildest Champions League finals in history, and Milan and Liverpool still nurse a healthy rivalry in its aftermath.

Milan is struggling in Serie A this season and currently sits ninth in the table, but it's packed with talent and has stars all over the field, like France's Mike Maignan in goal and Theo Hernandez in defense, the Netherlands' Tijjani Reijnders in midfield and the USMNT's Christian Pulisic in attack. 

This is a team that will warm up as the season goes on; Liverpool is lucky to be facing it so early.

Liverpool, meanwhile, is off to a flying start under new coach Arne Slot. It's more patient and clean than it ever was in the Jurgen Klopp days, and Slot's style has been a boon to some of Liverpool's more mercurial players (particularly England's Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Netherlands' Ryan Gravenberch and Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai).

Liverpool is the favorite in this rematch, but only just.

Manchester City versus Inter Milan, Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET

The last time these two teams met in the Champions League, they were contesting the 2023 final; City won it, but only by a hair. This is a fascinating matchup between England and Italy's undisputed best teams, and it's one that both will be hungry to win.

City is off to a perfect Premier League start, but things aren't all rosy for the one-time champion. The club just began its hearing regarding 115 alleged financial breaches — a hearing that could have massive, wide-reaching effects on the team's standing, up to and very much including points deductions in the league.

Inter's season has been slightly less dramatic, and it will view this as a perfect opportunity to get revenge on the team that kept it from the 2023 Champions League trophy. It has one of the strongest midfields in the world and could pull an upset if City gets distracted by its ongoing legal drama.