Champions League opening scorers: John McGinn scores first league phase goal of 2026/27

John McGinn has scored the first goal of the league phase of this season's UEFA Champions League, opening the scoring in the 11th minute for Aston Villa against Club Brugge.

The Villa midfielder follows in the footsteps of the likes of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Jari Litmanen and Sergio Agüero. Only one man has struck first in the competition on two occasions: Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid and Manchester United.

This season is the 35th in the Champions League era, and third with the league phase format; we look back through the archives to see which players were quickest off the mark in every campaign since the competition was rebranded in 1992/93.

Champions League group stage/league phase first scorers

1992/93 Daniel Amokachi, Club Brugge 1-0 CSKA Moskva (17 minutes)
1993/94 Domingos Paciência, Porto 3-2 Werder Bremen (7 minutes)
1994/95 Nikolai Pisarev, Dynamo Kyiv 3-2 Spartak Moskva (12 minutes)
1995/96 Andreas Möller, Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Juventus (1 minute)
1996/97 Jari Litmanen, Auxerre 0-1 Ajax (4 minutes)
1997/98 Stéphane Chapuisat, Galatasaray 0-1 Borussia Dortmund (74 minutes)*
1998/99 Joseba Etxeberria, Athletic Club 1-1 Rosenborg (6 minutes)
1999/00 Jan-Derek Sørensen, Boavista 0-3 Rosenborg; Robert Pirès, Marseille 2-0 Sturm Graz (9 minutes)

2000/01 Yegor Titov, Spartak Moskva 2-0 Leverkusen (51 minutes)*
2001/02 Marc Hendrikx, Lokomotiv Moskva 1-1 Anderlecht (15 minutes)*
2002/03 Zlatan Ibrahimović, Ajax 2-1 Lyon (11 minutes)
2003/04 Mikaël Silvestre, Manchester United 5-0 Panathinaikos (13 minutes)
2004/05 Vicente Rodríguez, Valencia 2-0 Anderlecht (16 minutes)
2005/06 Florent Sinama Pongolle, Real Betis 1-2 Liverpool (2 minutes)
2006/07 Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona 5-0 Levski Sofia (7 minutes)
2007/08 Brandão, Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Celtic (5 minutes)
2008/09 Sergio Agüero, PSV Eindhoven 0-3 Atlético de Madrid (9 minutes)
2009/10 Cristiano Ronaldo, Zürich 2-5 Real Madrid (27 minutes)

2010/11 Petri Pasanen**, Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (12 minutes)
2011/12 Pato, Barcelona 2-2 AC Milan (1 minute)
2012/13 Isco, Málaga 3-0 Zenit (3 minutes)
2013/14 David Alaba, Bayern München 3-0 CSKA Moskva; Filip Djuričić, Benfica 2-0 Anderlecht (4 minutes)
2014/15 Hulk, Benfica 0-2 Zenit (5 minutes)
2015/16 Ángel Di María, Paris 2-0 Malmö (4 minutes)
2016/17 Edinson Cavani, Paris 1-1 Arsenal (1 minute)
2017/18 Seydou Doumbia, Olympiacos 2-3 Sporting CP (2 minutes)
2018/19 Lionel Messi, Barcelona 4-0 PSV Eindhoven (32 minutes) *
2019/20 Sardar Azmoun, Lyon 1-1 Zenit (41 minutes)*

2020/21 Álvaro Morata, Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Juventus (46 minutes)*
2021/22 Cristiano Ronaldo, Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United (13 minutes)*
2022/23 Mislav Oršić, Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea (13 minutes)*
2023/24 Mohamed Simakan, Young Boys 1-3 Leipzig (3 minutes)*
2024/25 Kenan Yıldız, Juventus 3-1 PSV (21 minutes)*
2025/26 Promise David, PSV vs Union SG (9 minutes)*
2026/27 John McGinn, Club Brugge vs Aston Villa (11 minutes)*

* Early kick-off (from season 2018/19 onwards, two matches have regularly kicked off earlier than the others on the opening night)
**Own goal