LONDON (BN24) — Liverpool and Manchester City have both been drawn against Real Madrid in the 2025 Champions League league phase, while holders Paris Saint-Germain will face a brutal run of fixtures that includes Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid will welcome Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu and travel to Anfield to meet Liverpool in two of the most anticipated matches of the tournament’s early stage.
For Arne Slot’s Liverpool, the draw was unforgiving. Alongside Real Madrid, the Premier League champions will meet Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan at Anfield, while facing Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Galatasaray away. Liverpool topped last season’s league phase but were knocked out by PSG in the round of 16.
City, winners of the Champions League in 2023, also face a tough path. Guardiola’s side will host Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli and Galatasaray at the Etihad, while traveling to Villarreal, Monaco and Norwegian debutants Bodo/Glimt.
PSG, led by Luis Enrique, will meet Bayern Munich at home and Barcelona away in marquee clashes. They also host Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United while traveling to Atalanta, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao. PSG lifted the trophy last season after a rocky league campaign in which they finished 15th.
This season marks the second under UEFA’s revamped format, which replaced the traditional group stage with a single 36-team league. Each club plays eight different opponents, with the top eight advancing directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th will enter playoff rounds, while the bottom 12 are eliminated.
Other standout fixtures include Barcelona traveling to Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal host Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid before visiting Inter Milan and Bilbao.
Tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who stunned Celtic in the playoff round, will host Real Madrid and travel to London to face Arsenal. Cyprus’ Pafos, another debutant, will meet Chelsea away and Bayern Munich at home.
The opening round of games will take place from September 16 to 18, with the final matchday on January 28. UEFA announced that the 2025 Champions League final will be played in Budapest on May 30, with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. local time, earlier than the traditional 9:00 p.m. start.
