Real Madrid begin Champs League defence, Leicester make bow

Defending champs begin campaign at home against Lisbon

Real Madrid begin their defence of the trophy while Leicester City make their debut in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Real begin their quest to become the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era with an intriguing home tie against Cristiano Ronaldo’s first club. Ronaldo’s winning penalty in the final shoot-out against Atletico Madrid clinched Real a record 11th title last season. The Portuguese star made a goalscoring return in his first appearance since limping off in the Euro 2016 final 1-0 win over france in Saturday’s 5-2 defeat of Osasuna. Ronaldo’s boyhood club turn up at the Santiago Bernabeu in good shape after a 3-0 win over Moreirense at the weekend maintained their perfect start to the Portuguese season. Under Jorge Jesus they are back in the group stage after losing to CSKA Moscow in the play-offs last season.

At Bruges, Belgium, after their fairytale Premier League title triumph last season, Leicester begin their maiden Champions League voyage with the short trip to Belgium to face Club Brugge at the Jan Breydelstadion. This will be the Foxes’ first European game since a 3-1 defeat to Red Star Belgrade condemned them to a first-round exit in the Uefa Cup in September 2000.

The match between Tottenham Hotspur amd Monaco will be played at Wembley, which the visitors may appreciate due to the fact they were thrashed 1-4 in the Europa League at White Hart Lane last season.

Wembley hosted the finals of the competition in both 2011 and 2013. The hosts made an ultimately failed bid for the Premier League title last year with a thrilling young side led by Harry Kane and Dele Ali. Kane scored the fourth for Spurs. Monaco go into the tie in buoyant mood as Djibril Sidibe, Adama Traore, Fabinho and Kamil Glik powered them to a 4-1 win at Lille on Saturday.