Liverpool is set to face Champions League title holders Real Madrid in their return to the competition, following the draw for the revamped format.
Manchester City and Arsenal both have challenging fixtures against last season’s semi-finalists, Paris St-Germain, while Aston Villa will take on Scottish champions Celtic.
This year’s men’s tournament introduces a significant change, including the elimination of the traditional group stage, with each team now playing eight fixtures in the ‘league phase.’
The high-tech draw took place in Monaco on Thursday, with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo pressing the all-important button to let a computer algorithm determine the matchups.
A UEFA video shown before the draw humorously depicted stars from across the football world expressing confusion over the new format, with former Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic later praising it for offering “more football” in a comical interaction with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
The draw revealed some intriguing fixtures:
Real Madrid: Borussia Dortmund (home), Liverpool (away), AC Milan (home), Atalanta (away), Salzburg (home), Lille (away), VfB Stuttgart (home), Brest (away)
Manchester City: Inter Milan (home), Paris St-Germain (away), Club Bruges (home), Juventus (away), Feyenoord (home), Sporting Lisbon (away), Sparta Prague (home), Slovan Bratislava (away)
Bayern Munich: Paris St-Germain (home), Barcelona (away), Benfica (home), Shakhtar Donetsk (away), Dinamo Zagreb (home), Feyenoord (away), Slovan Bratislava (home), Aston Villa (away)
Paris St-Germain: Manchester City (home), Bayern Munich (away), Atletico Madrid (home), Arsenal (away), PSV Eindhoven (home), Salzburg (away), Girona (home), VfB Stuttgart (away)
Liverpool: Real Madrid (home), RB Leipzig (away), Bayer Leverkusen (home), AC Milan (away), Lille (home), PSV Eindhoven (away), Bologna (home), Girona (away)
Inter Milan: RB Leipzig (home), Manchester City (away), Arsenal (home), Bayer Leverkusen (away), Red Star Belgrade (home), Young Boys (away), Monaco (home), Sparta Prague (away)
Borussia Dortmund: Barcelona (home), Real Madrid (away), Shakhtar Donetsk (home), Club Bruges (away), Celtic (home), Dinamo Zagreb (away), Sturm Graz (home), Bologna (away)
RB Leipzig: Liverpool (home), Inter Milan (away), Juventus (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Sporting Lisbon (home), Celtic (away), Aston Villa (home), Sturm Graz (away)
Barcelona: Bayern Munich (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Atalanta (home), Benfica (away), Young Boys (home), Red Star Belgrade (away), Brest (home), Monaco (away)
Bayer Leverkusen: Inter Milan (home), Liverpool (away), AC Milan (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Salzburg (home), Feyenoord (away), Sparta Prague (home), Brest (away)
Atletico Madrid: RB Leipzig (home), Paris St-Germain (away), Bayer Leverkusen (home), Benfica (away), Lille (home), Salzburg (away), Slovan Bratislava (home), Sparta Prague (away)
Juventus: Manchester City (home), RB Leipzig (away), Benfica (home), Club Bruges (away), PSV Eindhoven (home), Lille (away), VfB Stuttgart (home), Aston Villa (away)
Arsenal: Paris St-Germain (home), Inter Milan (away), Shakhtar Donetsk (home), Atalanta (away), Dinamo Zagreb (home), Sporting Lisbon (away), Monaco (home), Girona (away)
AC Milan: Liverpool (home), Real Madrid (away), Club Bruges (home), Bayer Leverkusen (away), Red Star Belgrade (home), Dinamo Zagreb (away), Girona (home), Slovan Bratislava (away)
Aston Villa: Bayern Munich (home), RB Leipzig (away), Juventus (home), Club Bruges (away), Celtic (home), Young Boys (away), Bologna (home), Monaco (away)
Celtic: Aston Villa (away), RB Leipzig (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Club Bruges (home), Atalanta (away), Young Boys (home), Dinamo Zagreb (away), Slovan Bratislava (home)
This expanded 36-team tournament means each team will now play eight games—four at home and four away—in the league system, with two opponents from each of the four seeding pots.
Teams finishing in the top eight will automatically advance to the last 16, while those placing ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout play-off for a spot in the last 16. Those finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated from the competition without a chance to enter the Europa League.
The new format also sees an increase in the number of matches from 125 to 189, with each team playing a minimum of eight games and a maximum of 17. Champions League action kicks off on 17-19 September, with the league phase extending until 29 January.
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