Juventus and Borussia Dortmund Clash in Champions League Opener

The prestigious Champions League returns with a heavyweight clash as Juventus host Borussia Dortmund at the Alijanc stadion on September 16, 2025, at 20:00. French referee Francois Letexier will oversee this intriguing first-round encounter between two European giants with rich continental histories. Both teams enter the competition with ambitions of making a deep run, making this early matchup particularly significant as they look to start their Champions League campaigns on a positive note.

In the Champions League group stage, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund are positioned 18th and 11th respectively, though these standings have little significance as the tournament is just beginning with both teams yet to play their first match. The Old Lady and Die Schwarzgelben both enter with clean slates of zero points, goals scored, and goals conceded. This opening fixture represents a crucial opportunity for both sides to establish early momentum in a competition where a strong start can set the tone for the entire group stage campaign.

Juventus come into this Champions League opener in exceptional form, having won all five of their recent matches across competitions. The Bianconeri secured an impressive victory against rivals Inter (4:3) on September 13, 2025, in Serie A, following earlier league wins against Genoa (0:1) on August 31 and Parma Calcio 1913 (2:0) on August 24. Their preparation also included friendly victories over Atalanta (1:2) on August 16 and, notably, their upcoming opponents Borussia Dortmund (1:2) on August 10. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund have also been in strong form, winning four of their last five matches. They defeated FC Heidenheim (0:2) on September 13 and Union Berlin (3:0) on August 31 in the Bundesliga, drew with St. Pauli (3:3) on August 23, and advanced in the DFB-Pokal by beating RW Essen (0:1) on August 18, with their only recent defeat coming against Juventus (1:2) in a friendly on August 10.

The historical matchups between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund reveal a competitive rivalry spanning several years. In their most recent encounter, Juventus secured a 2:1 victory over Dortmund in a friendly match on August 10, 2025, with Andrea Cambiaso scoring twice (16' and 53') for the Italians, while Maximilian Beier (89') netted a late consolation for the Germans. Their previous meeting in July 2015 saw Dortmund triumph 2:0 in another friendly, with goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus. Their last competitive fixtures came in the 2014/15 Champions League Round of 16, where Juventus dominated with a 5:1 aggregate victory – winning 2:1 at the Alijanc stadion (with Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata scoring for Juventus and Reus for Dortmund) before a commanding 3:0 win at Signal Iduna Park with Tevez scoring twice and Morata adding another.