Champions League: Real Madrid vs Man City, Barça vs Bayern, the full draw
The draw for the league phase of the 2025/2026 Champions League was held this Thursday. For the second straight season, the competition will be played in the new “Swiss” format, replacing the traditional group stage.
SUMMARY
In total, 36 teams are taking part. The top eight in the single standings will qualify directly for the round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will have to play a two-legged playoff to earn their spot. Clubs ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from all European competition.
And the draw has already served up some marquee matchups, with Real Madrid set to face Manchester City and Barça to take on Bayern Munich. Matchday 1 of this league phase will run from September 16 to 18, wrapping up on January 28. The final is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2026 at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna.
The full draw:
- Bayern Munich : Chelsea (H), PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Arsenal (A), Sporting CP (H), PSV Eindhoven (A), Union Saint-Gilloise (H), Pafos (A)
- Chelsea : Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), Qarabag (A)
- Real Madrid : Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A), Juventus (H), Benfica (A), Marseille (H), Olympiacos (A), Monaco (H), Kairat Almaty (A)
- Inter Milan : Liverpool (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Arsenal (H), Atlético Madrid (A), Slavia Prague (H), Ajax (A), Kairat Almaty (H), Union Saint-Gilloise (A)
- Borussia Dortmund : Inter Milan (H), Manchester City (A), Villarreal (H), Juventus (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Tottenham (A), Athletic Bilbao (H), Copenhagen (A)
- Liverpool : Real Madrid (H), Inter Milan (A), Atlético Madrid (H), Frankfurt (A), PSV Eindhoven (H), Marseille (A), Qarabag (H), Galatasaray (A)
- FC Barcelona : PSG (H), Chelsea (A), Frankfurt (H), Club Brugge (A), Olympiacos (H), Slavia Prague (A), Copenhagen (H), Newcastle (A)
Comments