Champions League draw reveals a revamped format filled with marquee rematches for Europe’s leading clubs this season. The UEFA Champions League has returned, showcasing an exciting new structure that promises to change the landscape of club soccer.
The traditional World Cup-style group stage format, which has long determined which elite teams from Europe advance to the knockout rounds, has been replaced. Now, a new 36-team league table is in place, where each club will face off against eight different opponents, a significant shift from the previous format where teams played three home-and-away matches.
The draw for this new structure took place on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, accompanied by a well-produced video that humorously addressed the changes. It featured several football legends who questioned the need for a new format.
“What was wrong with the old format?” was the rhetorical question posed by Robbie Keane, the former Inter Milan and Tottenham striker, alongside UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and other notable figures like Gigi Buffon and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
The league stage kicks off on September 17, running through January, with the knockout rounds scheduled to follow later in 2025.
Here are three key insights from Thursday’s draw.
Final rematches galore …
The opening round features rematches from five of the last seven Champions League finals, including the last three. Defending champion Real Madrid, with a record 15 titles, will play Borussia Dortmund at home and Liverpool in what is anticipated to be the highlight of the league phase. They will also host AC Milan, the second most successful club in Champions League history.
Bayern Munich, set to host the 2025 title game on May 31, will take on Paris Saint-Germain and face Barcelona away. Meanwhile, Manchester City will host Inter Milan, whom they defeated in the 2023 final, while also facing PSG and Juventus on the road.
… and lots of other high-profile games, too
Despite losing Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid over the summer, PSG remains a formidable team, aiming to capture their first Champions League trophy. Their path is challenging, with matches against Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, and PSV Eindhoven, as well as Arsenal in London. PSG’s schedule also includes games against FC Salzburg from Austria, Girona from Spain, and Stuttgart from Germany.
Liverpool will host Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield, marking a homecoming for Leverkusen’s manager Xabi Alonso, who played a key role in Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League victory against AC Milan. Barcelona, meanwhile, is poised to make a strong push for the knockout stage, despite facing tough matches against Bayern, Dortmund, and Benfica.
A mixed bag for the 11 Americans
Five U.S. men’s national team players are set to compete in an intriguing first-round match, where Tim Weah and Weston McKennie’s Juventus will face Richie Ledezma, Ricardo Pepi, and Malik Tillman from PSV. Unfortunately, PSV’s Sergino Dest is out due to an ACL injury, limiting the American representation. Juventus will also visit Aston Villa, a match made more interesting by McKennie’s earlier decision to reject a transfer to the club.
AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah will travel to face Leverkusen and Real Madrid, as well as Liverpool at San Siro.
Additionally, Folarin Balogun will make his Champions League debut with Monaco, where he will face his former club Arsenal, along with matches against Aston Villa and Bologna.
Lastly, Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Celtic will also play Aston Villa in a clash dubbed the “Battle of Britain,” alongside a matchup against Gio Reyna’s Dortmund. The complete match schedule will be released on Saturday.
