The draw for the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League "League Phase", the first round of the revamped European competition, has been completed and it has treated fans to some exciting early match-ups.
UEFA bid farewell to the group phase of yesteryears, instead introducing a new format for the 2024-25 season onward in which all 36 participants are placed in one table, with each side facing eight different teams (four at home, four away).
Additionally, teams face two teams from each of the four pots, including teams from Pot 1, thus delivering several showdowns between European elites early on in the competition.
As a result, several clubs were dealt a tricky draw, the worst being PSG. The Ligue 1 champions will face Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal in the League Phase in their first post-Mbappe campaign.
And that's not all! Some of the continent's most historic and decorated clubs will lock horns in the first round, including defending champions Real Madrid and English giants Liverpool, who will clash at Anfield. Los Blancos will also meet AC Milan and battle Dortmund in a repeat of last season's UEFA Champions League final.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, drew PSG and Barcelona in the League Phase, with the Bavarians renewing their rivalry with the Blaugrana in Catalonia.
Speaking of Liverpool, the Merseyside giants will face Xabi Alonso, the highly-rated manager who the club wanted to appoint as Jurgen Klopp's successor. The Basque icon will return to Anfield when his Leverkusen side encounter the Reds in Europe.
Serie A champions Inter take on Manchester City in a rematch of the 2022-24 UEFA Champions League final, which Guardiola's side won 1-0. Not only will the Nerazzurri battle with the Premier League champions but they will also lock horns with the kings of Italy and North London giants Arsenal.
And finally, the Gunners, who are looking to win this competition for the first time in history and get their hands on the Premier League title for the first time since 2004, will have to overcome PSG, Inter, and Europa League champions Atalanta.
Here are the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League League Phase matches for Europe's major teams:
Real Madrid:
vs. Dortmund (H)
vs. Liverpool (A)
vs. Milan (H)
vs. Atalanta (A)
vs. Salzburg (H)
vs. Lille (A)
vs. Stuttgart (H)
vs. Brest (A)
Manchester City:
vs. Inter (H)
vs. PSG (A)
vs. Club Brugge (H)
vs. Juventus (A)
vs. Feyenoord (H)
vs. Sporting CP (A)
vs. Sparta Prague (H)
vs. Slovan Bratislava (A)
Bayern Munich:
vs. PSG (H)
vs. Barcelona (A)
vs. Benfica (H)
vs. Shakhtar (A)
vs. Dinamo Zagreb (H)
vs. Feyenoord (A)
vs. Slovan Bratislava (H)
vs. Aston Villa (A)
Liverpool:
vs. Real Madrid (H)
vs. RB Leipzig (A)
vs. Leverkusen (H)
vs. Milan (A)
vs. Lille (H)
vs. PSV (A)
vs. Bologna (H)
vs. Girona (A)
Inter:
vs. RB Leipzig (H)
vs. Manchester City (A)
vs. Arsenal (H)
vs. Leverkusen (A)
vs. Crvena Zvezda (H)
vs. Young Boys (A)
vs. Monaco (H)
vs. Sparta Praha (A)
PSG:
vs. Man City H)
vs. Bayern Munich (A)
vs. Atletico Madrid (H)
vs. Arsenal (A)
vs. PSV (H)
vs. Salzburg (A)
vs. Girona (H)
vs. Stuttgart (A)
Barcelona:
vs. Bayern Munich (H)
vs. Dortmund (A)
vs. Atalanta (H)
vs. Benfica (A)
vs. Young Boys (H)
vs. Crvena Zvezda (A)
vs. Brest (H)
vs. Monaco (A)
Leverkusen:
vs. Inter (H)
vs. Liverpool (A)
vs. Milan (H)
vs. Atletico Madrid (A)
vs. Salzburg (H)
vs. Feyenoord (A)
vs. Sparta Praha (H)
vs. Brest (A)
Atletico Madrid:
vs. RB Leipzig (H)
vs. PSG (A)
vs. Leverkusen (H)
vs. Benfica (A)
vs. Lille (H)
vs. Salzburg (A)
vs. Slovan Bratislava (H)
vs. Sparta Praha (A)
Arsenal:
vs. PSG (H)
vs. Inter (A)
vs. Shakhtar Donetsk (H)
vs. Atalanta (A)
vs. Dinamo Zagreb (H)
vs. Sporting CP (A)
vs. Monaco (H)
vs. Girona (A)
Key fixtures
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Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
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Real Madrid vs. AC Milan
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Manchester City vs. Inter
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PSG vs. Manchester City
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Bayern Munich vs. PSG
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Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
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Liverpool vs. Leverkusen
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AC Milan vs. Liverpool
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Inter vs. Arsenal
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PSG vs. Atletico Madrid
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Arsenal vs. PSG
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Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid
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Atalanta vs. Arsenal
The League Phase of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League kicks off on September 7, 2024. The date for each fixture has not yet been determined, meaning each team's matches might not take place in the order listed above. However, the dates for each of the eight matchdays have been revealed. Check them out in the list below:
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: Jan. 21-22, 2025
Matchday 8: Jan. 29, 2025
Knockout round playoffs: Feb. 11-12 and 18-19, 2025
2024-25 UEFA Champions League final: May 31, 2025
*Bookmark our UEFA Champions League page to find out the date, fixtures list, and kick-off times when confirmed
