Champions League: Liverpool, Man City land Real Madrid tests as PSG face daunting draw

Liverpool and Manchester City have both been drawn against record winners Real Madrid in this season’s UEFA Champions League, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain must navigate a tough path featuring Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Thursday’s draw in Nyon produced several blockbuster fixtures, with Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid set to host Manchester City and also visit Anfield to face Premier League champions Liverpool.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool, who topped last season’s league phase before being knocked out by PSG in the round of 16, will also take on Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan at home. Their away trips include Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish champions Galatasaray.

City, winners of the competition in 2023, will welcome Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and Galatasaray to the Etihad, while also travelling to Villarreal, Monaco, and Norwegian debutants Bodo/Glimt.

For PSG, the challenge looks equally daunting. Luis Enrique’s men, who lifted their first-ever Champions League trophy last May after edging Inter Milan in the Munich final, face home games against Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United, and away fixtures against Barcelona, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, Athletic Bilbao, and Atalanta.

Under the revamped format introduced last season, all 36 participating clubs are placed in a single league table. Each team plays eight matches against different opponents, four home and four away. The top eight qualify directly for the last 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th enter the knockout play-offs. The bottom 12 are eliminated.

Elsewhere, Barcelona will visit Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal face home ties against Bayern and Atletico Madrid before tricky away trips to Inter Milan and Athletic Bilbao. Tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who eliminated Celtic on penalties, will host Real Madrid and travel to London to face Arsenal. Cypriot side Pafos will welcome Bayern Munich and head to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea.

The opening round of fixtures will be played between September 16 and 18, with the final scheduled for May 30, 2026, in Budapest. UEFA confirmed on Thursday that the final will kick off at 6:00 p.m. local time, three hours earlier than the traditional 9:00 p.m. start.