Champions League Matchday 1: Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava facts
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Article summary
Previous meetings, club facts and key stats ahead of the UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 game.
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Paris Saint-Germain's bid to win a third successive UEFA Champions League title begins at home to Slovan Bratislava, who are seeking to improve on their only previous campaign in the competition.
Previous meetings
The teams' only previous encounters came in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage, when a 0-0 draw in Bratislava on Matchday 3 was followed by a 1-0 home win for Paris on Matchday 4. Those remain Paris' only fixtures against Slovakian opposition.
Slovan have never beaten French opponents (D2 L3), most recently losing 1-2 at home to Strasbourg on Matchday 1 of last season's UEFA Conference League.
Form guide
This is Paris's 19th campaign in the Champions League proper. They have featured every season since 2012/13, reaching the knockout stages in all 14 of those most recent campaigns.
Eleventh in last season's league phase (W4 D2 L2), Luis Enrique's side beat Monaco (5-4 aggregate), Chelsea (8-2), Liverpool (4-0) and Bayern München (6-5) to reach a second successive final, where they overcame Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Budapest.
The Parisiens were only the second team to retain the Champions League, after Real Madrid (2016, 2017, 2018), and the 14th club to win multiple European Cups.
Paris kicked off this season by beating Aston Villa 2-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup for the second time having also lifted it in 2025.
Paris have lost on Matchday 1 in only two of their last 14 campaigns (W9 D3), winning their last four opening fixtures. They beat Atalanta 4-0 at Parc des Princes in 2025/26, their third successive clean sheet.
Slovan are in the Champions League proper for the second time. They made their debut in 2024/25, when they finished 35th in the league phase having lost all eight games.
The Slovakian side took part in Champions League qualifying for the 13th time and the eighth in a row, successfully negotiating it for only the second time.
Links and trivia
Paris are unbeaten in 11 European matches (W7 D4) and have lost only one of their last ten at home (W7 D2).
The French side scored 45 goals in last season's Champions League, equalling Barcelona's record for most goals in a single campaign set in 1999/2000.
Enrique's team have failed to score in only one of their last 25 European matches.
Paris have had only one goalless draw in their last 118 games in UEFA competition.
This is Slovan's seventh European game of 2026/27. They beat Iberia Tbilisi 3-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round (2-0 a, 1-1 h) and Sweden's Mjällby 4-1 in the third (2-1 a, 2-0 h) before a play-off round victory against Celje (1-1 h, 2-1 a aet).
The Slovakian side are therefore unbeaten in seven European games (W5 D2).
Slovan's eight matches in the 2024/25 league phase produced 34 goals at an average of 4.3 per game.
The Bratislava club lost in the third qualifying round of the Champions League and then the Europa League qualifying play-offs in 2025/26, finishing 29th in the league phase of the Conference League.