Liverpool and Man City face Real Madrid in Champions League, PSG get tough draw

Liverpool and Manchester City will both come up against Real Madrid in this season's Champions League, while title-holders Paris Saint-Germain were handed a daunting set of opponents in Thursday’s draw — including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid will host City at the Santiago Bernabéu and also face Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield, setting up two of the standout fixtures of the league phase.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool, who topped the league phase last season only to be eliminated by PSG in the last 16, will also host Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan at Anfield. Their away matches will be no less challenging, with trips to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish champions Galatasaray on the cards.

City, the 2023 Champions League winners, will welcome Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli, and Galatasaray to the Etihad Stadium. Their away games include clashes at Villarreal, Monaco, Real Madrid, and Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt.

PSG, meanwhile, are once again facing a gruelling path. The reigning champions will entertain Bayern Munich and travel to Barcelona. Luis Enrique’s men also host Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United and have tricky away ties against Atalanta, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao.

The French side famously scraped into the knockout rounds last season, finishing 15th in the league phase before going on a dramatic run to win the title. This time, with no clear-cut “easy” fixtures, PSG’s route to the latter stages looks even more treacherous.

This is only the second season under the Champions League’s revamped format. All 36 participating clubs are placed into a single league table, replacing the traditional group-stage format. Each team plays eight matches — four home, four away — against eight different opponents.

The top eight teams advance directly to the last 16, while clubs finishing between ninth and 24th enter a two-legged playoff round. The bottom 12 are eliminated from European competition entirely.

Other notable ties include Barcelona’s trips to Chelsea and Newcastle, and Arsenal’s matchups against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid at home. The Gunners must also travel to Inter Milan and Athletic Bilbao.

Among the competition’s new faces are Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who stunned Celtic on penalties in the playoff round. They will host Real Madrid and travel to face Arsenal in London. Meanwhile, Cypriot minnows Pafos will get a glamour tie away to Chelsea and will host Bayern Munich in Cyprus.

UEFA is expected to confirm the fixture list on Friday, with the first matchday scheduled across three days from September 16 to 18. The eighth and final round of the league phase will take place on January 28.

This season’s final will be held in the Hungarian capital Budapest on May 30, 2026. UEFA confirmed on Thursday that kick-off will be at 6pm local time — three hours earlier than the usual 9pm start.

AFP