Manchester City have been drawn at home to Inter Milan and away to Paris Saint-Germain as part of the new-look league phase to the Champions League that UEFA hopes will provide a more exciting first stage of the competition.
Liverpool have been handed a home tie with Real Madrid from Pot One as well as a trip to RB Leipzig. Arnie Slot’s men also host Bayer Leverkusen and visit AC Milan, two teams from Pot Two.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will play PSG at home and visit Inter Milan – their two Pot One opponents – while they will also host Shakhtar Donetsk and travel to Europa League holders Atalanta.
Aston Villa – former European champions having lifted the European Cup in 1982 – have been given a mouth-watering home encounter with Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery’s side will also host Juventus as they return to the Champions League, ending a run of 41 years without playing in European football’s premier competition.
Celtic will play RB Leipzig and Club Brugge at Parkhead, while facing trips to Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta.
For the new season, the Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, a transformation from the traditional group stage to a single league phase including all participating teams.
Each team has been drawn against two different teams from each pot, playing one team at home and one away. Teams will play eight matches against eight different teams.
Every club will now be guaranteed a minimum of eight league-stage games against eight different opponents (four home games, four away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home-and-away basis.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stages, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated from all competitions.
Why was the draw being done by a computer?
The new draw system took around 35 minutes – the same duration as the manual draws for the previous 32-team format with a group phase and knockout stage.
Without the bespoke software, an old-fashioned manual draw for the expanded competition would have taken four hours and require up to 1,000 balls and 36 glass bowls.
When will fans know the fixture dates?
The finalised fixture list will be released on Saturday August 31.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League league-stage matches?
- Matchday 1: September 17-19, 2024
- Matchday 2: October 1/2, 2024
- Matchday 3: October 22/23, 2024
- Matchday 4: November 5/6, 2024
- Matchday 5: November 26/27, 2024
- Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024
- Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025
- Matchday 8: January 29, 2025
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stages?
- Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
- Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
Where is the Champions League final being held in 2025?
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.
Source : Sky Sports
