The draw for the new Champions League 2024/25

The 2024/25 Champions League will be played in a completely different format than before.

Come follow the draw and see how the Champions League will be contested in this new format.

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New format of the Champions League

The new Champions League will feature 36 teams, with 9 teams in each pot. In the first phase, each club will face two opponents from each pot, resulting in eight matches per team—four at home and four away. Teams from the same country cannot face each other in the initial phase.

At the end of the league phase, the top eight teams will automatically qualify for the round of 16. Teams finishing from 9th to 24th place will enter the playoffs, which will be played over two legs to determine eight more spots. Teams finishing 25th and below will be eliminated.

The knockout stage format remains the same, with two-legged ties. The team with the best aggregate score advances, without the away goals rule. In case of a tie, there will be extra time, and if necessary, penalties. The final will continue to be a single match and will be held at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich’s stadium in Munich, Germany, on May 31, 2025.

Photo: Valery HACHE / AFP

2024/25 Champions League Draw

During the draw ceremony, Cristiano Ronaldo received a tribute from UEFA for his achievements in the competition, where he is the all-time top scorer with 140 goals. The special tribute was presented by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Photo: Reuters

Another honoree was goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who never won the Champions League but was a runner-up on three occasions with Juventus. The Italian was called “the best goalkeeper of all time” by the UEFA President.

For the first time, UEFA used software to assist with the draw. The system worked with four pots, each containing nine clubs, classified based on UEFA’s coefficient ranking. When a team was drawn, the computer instantly determined its eight rivals, with two from each pot.

Pot 1 consisted of:

• Manchester City
• Bayern Munich
• Real Madrid
• PSG
• Liverpool
• Inter Milan
• Borussia Dortmund
• RB Leipzig
• Barcelona

Pot 2 consisted of:

• Bayer Leverkusen
• Atlético Madrid
• Atalanta
• Juventus
• Benfica
• Arsenal
• Club Brugge
• Milan
• Shakhtar Donetsk

Pot 3 consisted of:

• Feyenoord
• Sporting
• PSV
• Dinamo Zagreb
• RB Salzburg
• Lille
• Red Star Belgrade
• Young Boys
• Celtic

Pot 4 consisted of:

• Slovan Bratislava
• Monaco
• Sparta Prague
• Aston Villa
• Bologna
• Girona
• Stuttgart
• Sturm Graz
• Brest

After the draw, the teams will face each other as follows:

Photo: UEFA/Playback

The dates for the first phase matches will be set on Saturday.

The new format brings many exciting clashes already in the first phase:

• Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
• Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
• Real Madrid vs. Milan
• Manchester City vs. Inter Milan
• PSG vs. Manchester City
• Juventus vs. Manchester City
• Bayern Munich vs. PSG
• Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich
• PSG vs. Atlético Madrid
• Arsenal vs. PSG
• Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen
• Milan vs. Liverpool
• Inter Milan vs. Arsenal
• Bayer Leverkusen vs. Inter Milan
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona
• Barcelona vs. Atalanta
• Bayer Leverkusen vs. Milan
• Atlético Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen
• Atalanta vs. Arsenal

Schedule up to the final:

• League phase: September 17, 2024, to January 29, 2025
• Playoffs draw: January 31, 2025
• Knockout playoffs: February 11 to 19, 2025
• Knockout stage draw: February 21, 2025
• Round of 16: March 4 to 12, 2025
• Quarter-finals: April 8 to 16, 2025
• Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
• Final: May 31, 2025

 

Written by Henry Miller.