PSG starts title defense with Champions League powers Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal also in action

Paris Saint-Germain enters the Champions League arena Wednesday as the two-time title holder heads a heavyweight lineup of six games.

PSG hosts Slovan Bratislava one day after 10 players in coach Luis Enrique’s squad were nominated on the shortlist of 30 for the Ballon d’Or award.

Arsenal, the beaten finalist in May, starts in Napoli after topping the 36-team standings last season with eight straight wins and as the only unbeaten club.

Six-time European champion Liverpool, under new Spanish coach Andoni Iraola, hosts Atletico Madrid in a repeat of the opening round one year ago that was won 3-2 on captain Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time header.

Five-time champion Barcelona also starts at home against Feyenoord, which is coached by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who returns to Camp Nou where he spent four years as a player and won the Champions League in 2006.

That is one of the two early kickoffs at 6:45 p.m. (1645 GMT) in Central Europe. At the same time, debutant Viking from Norway will start at Stuttgart.

Sporting Lisbon also hosts Galatasaray in the 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) kickoffs.

PSG arrives at the Champions League, after failing to win any of its first three games in Ligue 1, hosting a Slovakian champion which lost all eight games when the 36-team league format debuted two years ago.

Still, Luis Enrique typically has his team peaking in the second half of the season where titles are won and lost.

In back-to-back Champions League title seasons, PSG placed just 11th and 15th in the 36-team standings and had to go through the knockout playoffs round in February.

PSG also has eight players who were involved in the longest-ever World Cup until the final weekend in mid-July and had a shorter offseason break.

Slovan coach Yaya Touré will make Champions League history as the first African to lead a team into the main phase of the competition.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone is approaching 15 years at the club and starts his 14th straight season in the Champions League. His team was the beaten finalist — both times against Real Madrid — in his first and third tries to win the European title that still eludes the club.

Atletico has lost its last two visits to Anfield, though a 3-2 extra-time win there in March 2020 eliminated then-title holder Liverpool in the round of 16.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta talks to Arsenal's Martin Odegaard during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Barcelona's Raphinha, right, celebrates with teammate Lamine Yamal after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Barcelona in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

BANGKOK (AP) — A gunman shot and killed a kindergarten teacher Wednesday inside a school building in eastern Thailand, where 44 children and three other teachers were evacuated safely, authorities said.

The shooting took place around 11 a.m. inside a building at the Nongplalai Municipal Kindergarten in Chonburi province, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of the capital Bangkok.

All 44 students were unharmed and evacuated along with the other teachers after the shooting, according to the Chonburi provincial government.

The shooter, who is believed to be the victim's husband, fled the scene. His house was surrounded by police, officials said.

Thai media reports identified the suspect as a police officer at the nearby Bang Lamung station. The Chonburi Provincial Police office said the matter is still under investigation.

Chonburi Gov. Narit Niramaiwong ordered the school to be closed and mental health experts to be available to support the students and school staff, his office said.

School safety and gun violence in Thailand have come under scrutiny after a 14-year-old student opened fire at his high school and family home in August, killing eight people and injuring more than 20 before apparently taking his own life.

Earlier this month, a 14-year-old student was arrested after he fired several shots but failed to injure anyone at his school in Kamphaeng Phet province, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Bangkok.

Calls for tighter controls on firearms have intensified and the national government has ordered a review of gun regulations, including suspension of new permits to purchase firearms and a review of existing permits.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia despite fairly restrictive gun laws. While mass shootings are still rare, Thailand has seen an uptick in high-profile attacks in recent years.

In this photo released by the Chonburi government's Public Relations Department, police officers gather inside Nongplalai Municipal Kindergarten after a gunman fatally shot a teacher in Chonburi, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Chonburi Government Public Relations Department via AP)