Champions League holders Paris St Germain will face Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the league phase this season, while record 15-time winners Real Madrid will take on Manchester City and Liverpool following Thursday’s draw that highlighted thrilling matchups.
PSG will also go up against Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, along with Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen in the new league phase format that began last season. Each team will play eight matches — four at home and four away.
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Real Madrid will meet Manchester City for the fifth consecutive year and travel to Liverpool, where Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Anfield after his move to Real during the offseason.
Additionally, Real will host Juventus and have a long trip to Eastern Europe to face Kazakh team Kairat Almaty, who made a surprising playoff victory against Celtic to qualify for the first time.
Last season’s league phase leaders Liverpool will compete against Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, and Eintracht Frankfurt, while Bayern will face Chelsea, Arsenal, and Club Brugge.
Pep Guardiola’s City will host Dortmund, Leverkusen, and Napoli, with two away games in Spain against Real and Villarreal.
Last year’s runners-up Inter Milan will host Liverpool and Arsenal and travel to Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona, the La Liga champions and last year’s semi-finalists, will host PSG and play away matches against Chelsea and Newcastle.
Arsenal, who reached the semi-finals last season, will also face Atletico Madrid and Club Brugge, with Bayern as their most significant challenge. They have met the German side 14 times in the competition with no wins in their last five meetings.
The Premier League leads with six clubs represented, including last season’s top five — Liverpool, Arsenal, City, Chelsea, and Newcastle — along with Europa League champions Tottenham.
Spurs will play Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal, alongside PSG, while Serie A champions Napoli will face Chelsea, Man City, Frankfurt, and Benfica.
Newcastle returns to the Champions League but faces a tough challenge after being drawn in pot four, as they will compete against Barcelona, PSG, Benfica, and Leverkusen.
The league phase will kick off with 36 teams competing on eight matchdays between September 16 and January 28. The knockout phase starts in February, with the final scheduled for May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Chelsea received a special award for being the first club to win the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup, and the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was honored with the UEFA President’s Award.
Published on Aug 28, 2025