Champions League Matchday 1: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Galatasaray facts
Friday, September 12, 2025
Article summary
Previous meetings, club facts and key stats ahead of the UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 game.
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Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray are both making their returns to the UEFA Champions League as they meet in Germany on Matchday 1.
Last match
The only previous matches between the teams came in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup second round, Galatasaray winning 1-0 on aggregate (0-0 a, 1-0 h).
That second-leg loss is Frankfurt’s only defeat in eight matches against Turkish teams (W3 D4), their most recent encounter a 3-1 win at Beşiktaş on Matchday 2 of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League.
Galatasaray are without a win in their last six matches against German teams (D1 L5), since a 3-2 victory at Schalke in the 2012/13 Champions League round of 16 second leg to complete a 4-3 aggregate success.
Frankfurt's only previous Champions League group/league participation was in 2022/23 when – as Europa League holders – they went on to reach the round of 16.
The German club were Europa League quarter-finalists in 2024/25, losing 1-2 on aggregate to eventual champions Tottenham (1-1 a, 0-1 h). They had finished fifth in the league phase before beating Ajax 6-2 on aggregate in the last 16.
This is Galatasaray's 19th participation in the Champions League proper – more than every other Turkish club combined – but only a second in six seasons.
That last campaign, in 2023/24, ended in the group stage – as had Gala's previous four forays into the competition.
The Istanbul club lost 2-4 on aggregate to Young Boys in last season's play-offs, going on to finish 14th in the league phase of the Europa League before being eliminated by AZ Alkmaar in the knockout phase play-offs (1-4 a, 2-2 h).
Key stats
Frankfurt have lost only two of their last 13 home games in the group stage/league phase of UEFA competition (W7 D4).
The German side were unbeaten at home in the league phase of last season’s Europa League, an opening draw followed by three successive wins.
Galatasaray have lost only two of their last ten European matches (W3 D5) but are without a win in six (D4 L2).
The Turkish team have not won in their last nine away European fixtures (D3 L6), since a 3-2 victory at Manchester United on Matchday 2 of the 2023/24 Champions League.
Gala have won only one of their last 17 Champions League group stage/league phase matches (D5 L11).