Champions League draw LIVE: Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn fixtures ahead of new format
A new era of the Champions League arrives as the draw is held for the inaugural 36-team format.
The old group stage is out, with a new-look league phase arriving to bring what Uefa hope will be a more exciting first stage of the competition. As usual, teams cannot face opponents from their country, but there are some blockbuster ties as for the first time clubs can face rivals from the same pot - meaning that Liverpool have been paired with Real Madrid while Manchester City will face two Italian giants, among others. Meanwhile, Aston Villa face Celtic in a classic battle of Britain.
Follow all the reaction from the Champions League draw in our live blog below:
Champions League draw LIVE: Latest updates and full fixtures
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
Man City to face Inter Milan and Juventus
Liverpool to host Real Madrid and travel to AC Milan
Arsenal home to PSG and away to Girona
Celtic and Aston Villa will contest a battle of Britain
Champions League draw LIVE
18:10 , Karl Matchett
To recap, all four Premier League sides’ fixtures in full:
Arsenal: PSG h, Inter Milan a, Shakhtar h, Atalanta a, Dinamo h, Sporting CP a, Monaco h, Girona a.
Aston Villa: Bayern Munich h, RB Leipzig a, Juventus h, Club Brugge a, Celtic h, Young Boys a, Bologna h, Monaco a.
Liverpool: Real Madrid h, RB Leipzig a, Bayer Leverkusen h, AC Milan a, Lille h, PSV a, Bologna h, Girona a.
Man City: Inter Milan h, PSG a, Club Brugge h, Juventus a, Feyenoord h, Sporting CP a, Sparta Praha h, Slovan Bratislava a.
Champions League draw LIVE
18:06 , Karl Matchett
That’s it - the full draw is in and the fixtures for every club are known...at least in opponent terms.
The actual schedule and dates will be known at the weekend, once the draws for the Europa and Conference Leagues are both also done.
Champions League draw LIVE
18:04 , Karl Matchett
Brest: Real Madrid h, Barcelona a, Leverkusen h, Shakhtar a, PSV h, Salzburg a, Sturm Graz h, Sparta Praha a.
Aston Villa: Bayern h, Leipzig a, Juventus h, Brugge a, Celtic h, Young Boys a, Bologna h, Monaco a
Sparta Praha: All fixtures already drawn so nothing extra to do here
Slovan Bratislava: Same, all done at this point
AS Monaco: Same again
Sturm Graz: Literally just to see their name on a ticket. The games are ready!
Champions League draw LIVE
18:02 , Karl Matchett
Phew, it’s going fast now as only two or three games needed each time. Soon we’ll know it all - pot 4 incoming, including Villa’s remaining matches.
Stuttgart: PSG h, Real a, Atalanta h, Juve a, Young Boys h, Red Star a, Sparta Praha h, Bratislava a.
Girona: Liverpool h, PSG a, Arsenal h, Milan a, Feyenoord h, PSV a, Bratislava h, Sturm Graz a.
Bologna: Dortmund h, Liverpool a, Shakhtar h, Benfica a, Lille h, Sporting a, Monaco h, Aston Villa a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:58 , Karl Matchett
RB Salzburg: PSG h, Real MAdrid a, Atletico h, Leverkusen a, Dinamo h, Feyenoord a, Brest h, Sparta Praha a.
Celtic: Leipzig h, Dortmund a, Atalanta a, Brugge h, Young Boys h, Dinamo a, Slovan Bratislava h, Aston Villa a.
Sporting CP: Man City h, Leipzig a, Arsenal h, Brugge a, Lille h, PSV a, Bologna h, Sturm Graz a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:56 , Karl Matchett
Feyenoord: Man City a, Bayern h, Leverkusen h, Benfica a, Salzburg h, Lille a, Sparta Praha h, Girona a.
GNK Dinamo: Dortmund h, Bayern a, AC Milan h, Arsenal a, Celtic h, Salzburg a, Monaco h, Slovam Bratislava a.
Red Star: Barcelona h, Inter a, Benfica h, Milan a, PSV h, Young Boys a, Suttgart h, Monaco a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:54 , Karl Matchett
Pot 3 here we go, Celtic are in here somewhere.
Young Boys: Inter h, Barcelona a, Atalanta h, Shakhtar a, Red Star h, Celtic a, Aston Villa h, Stuttgart a.
Lille: Real Madrid h, Liverpool a, Juventus h, Atletico a, Feyenoord h, Sporting CP a, Sturm Graz h, Bologna a.
PSV: Liverpool h, PSG a, Shakhtar h, Juventus a, Sporting CP h, Red Star a, Girona h, Brest a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:50 , Karl Matchett
Juventus is pulled out by Buffon with a big grin.
They face: Man City h, Leipzig a, Benfica h, Brugge a, PSV h, Lille a, Stuttgart h, Aston Villa a.
Shakhtar left waiting after a back-and-forth about Ronaldo scoring past Buffon, but finally:
Bayern h, Dortmund a, Atalanta h, Arsenal a, Young Boys h, PSV a, Brest h, Bologna a.
That’s it for pot 2. Pots 3 and 4 teams obviously know half of their opponents already.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:47 , Karl Matchett
For Benfica:
Barcelona h, Bayern a, Atletico h, Juventus a, Feyenoord h, Red Star a, Bologna h, Monaco a.
For AC Milan:
Liverpool h, Real Madrid a, Brugge h, Leverkusen a, Red Star h, Dinamo a, Girona h, Slovan Bratislava a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:46 , Karl Matchett
On we go with Club Brugge:
Dortmund h, Man City a, Juventus h, AC Milan a, Sporting CP h, Celtic a, Aston Villa h, Sturm Graz a.
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen:
Inter Milan h, Liverpool a, AC Milan h, Atletico Madrid a, RB Salzburg h, Feyenoord a, Sparta Praha h, Brest a.
And a third English side out - it’s Arsenal.
Their games: PSG h, Inter Milan a, Shakhtar h, Atalanta a, Dinamo h, Sporting CP a, Monaco h, Girona a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:43 , Karl Matchett
First out are Atletico Madrid.
Fixtures: RB Leipzig h, PSG a, Bayer Leverkusen h, Benfica a, Lille h, RB Salzburg a, Slovan Bratislava h, Sparta Praha a.
Next it’s Atalanta the reigning Europa League champions, now in the Champions League.
Fixtures; Real Madrid h, Barcelona a, Arsenal h, Shakhtar a, Celtic h, Young Boys a, Sturm Graz h, Stuttgart a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:41 , Karl Matchett
As a colleague points out while the ‘pot 2’ montage of teams are being played, Uefa could absolutely do all of this with a single push of the button. The software could automate it instantly.
This is all...ceremony. A bit of an event, doing it team by team. On we go with the second batch of nine teams!
Champions League draw LIVE
17:39 , Karl Matchett
PSG are the last pot 1 team out and they’ll play:
Man City h, Bayern Munich a, Atletico Madrid h, Arsenal a, PSV h, Salzburg a, Girona h, Stuttgart a.
Three or four cracking games there.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:38 , Karl Matchett
Real Madrid the current champions are out next.
Their fixtures: Dortmund h, Liverpool a, AC Milan h, Atalanta a, Salzburg h, Lille a, Stuttgart h, Brest a.
And next out is Liverpool - we already have a couple of their games.
The Reds’ games: Real Madrid h, Leipzig a, Bayer Leverkusen h, AC Milan a, Lille h, PSV a, Bologna h, Girona a.
An interesting mix for Arne Slot’s side!
Champions League draw LIVE
17:36 , Karl Matchett
Borussia Dortmund are out next.
They’ll play: Barcelona h, Real Madrid a, Shakhtar h, Brugge a, Celtic h, Dinamo a, Sturm Graz h, Bologna a.
Barcelona are next out from Buffon.
They face: Bayern h, Dortmund a, Atalanta h, Benfica a, Young boys h, Red Star a, Brest h, Monaco a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:34 , Karl Matchett
So Villa will wait until the end in pot four, but they already know one opponent there in Bayern Munich. On we go.
RB Leipzig are next out and they will face:
Inter Milan a, Liverpool h, Juventus h, Atletico Madrid a, Sporting CP h, Celtic a, Aston Villa h, Sturm Graz a.
A first match for Liverpool there too, a trip to Germany.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:32 , Karl Matchett
Next up Inter Milan:
Their fixtures - Leipzig h, Man City a, Arsenal h, Leverkusen a, Red Star h, Young Boys a, Monaco h, Sparta Praha a.
Bayern Munich:
They will play - PSG h, Barcelona a, Benfica h, Shakhtar a, Dinamo h, Feyenoord a, Slovan Bratislava h, Aston Villa a.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:31 , Karl Matchett
Here we go! Buffon drawing the teams, Ronaldo...pressing a button.
First out is Manchester City.
Let’s see how long it takes after some big button-pushing...about five seconds.
Inter Milan (h) and PSG (a); Brugge (h) and Juventus (a); Feyenoord (h) and Sporting (a);; Sparta Praha (h) and Bratislava (a) are their opponents!
Champions League draw LIVE
17:27 , Karl Matchett
Another video for the explainer. Here are the highlights for the final time.
Four pots - the holders and top eight in coefficient rankings in pot 1, then down the list.
Each team is drawn out in turn (pot 1 teams first, then two and so on) and software automatically assigns random, eligible teams for them to face.
No team from the same association in the fixtures, and a maximium of two from other associations.
The software draws eight opponents, two from each pot, automatically makes four of them home and four away games.
The software also makes sure every club left in can still get a full round of fixtures at every turn.
Match calendar with order of games will be released on Saturday.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:24 , Karl Matchett
Here we go, Marchetti is on the stage in front of some tables! That must mean we’re about there and ready to start the proper draw.
He’s giving the history of the tournament - see a few posts earlier for the main points - and explaining why this new Champions League is going to be The Best One Ever.
A special congrats to Slovan Bratislava, Girona and Brest for their first-ever appearances, he says. Let’s go!
Champions League draw LIVE
17:21 , Karl Matchett
This is, for Uefa, pretty good. Basically, their next video is a “movie” of a bunch of players - Rodri, Buffon, Luis Figo and others - complaining they don’t understand the changes, that the new format is a mess and it’s too complicated for everyone.
Ceferin is being ferried about playing some sort badass gangster president telling everyone that it’s all under control...and then Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears, giving it the big emotional scene and just saying it’s more of everything which is better. He almost finishes up with it being “like a Super L-” before Ceferin shushes him.
A nice touch of rare self-awarness, you might say....
Champions League draw LIVE
17:12 , Karl Matchett
Next award is one going to the best all-time goalscorer in the Champions League.
And it’s Cristiano Ronaldo, of course.
Most seasons as top scorer, most goals in a single campaign and more goals overall. He did love hammering them in in this competition, didn’t he?
Now playing in the somewhat less-watched Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo picks up a silver ball stylised with the Champions League stars in recognition of his 140 goals in the competition.
Champions League draw LIVE
17:07 , Karl Matchett
Right here we go....!
Well, in terms of the event, not the draw.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin is on stage and there are two awards to be presented tonight.
The president’s award is the imaginatively titled first one, given it’s chosen by Ceferin himself, and he has picked Italian goalkeeping legend Gigi Buffon.
Dramatic music overlayed on a Uefa-stylised video montage naturally gets us kicked off. Gigi does not drop the award, you’ll be delighted to hear.
Champions League draw LIVE: City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Villa learn fate
16:55 , Karl Matchett
Ok we’re just about coming up to the start time...in truth, we can be a little uncertain about how long this is going to take.
Uefa events are famously and pointlessly long-winded at times, but the most recent draws haven’t been quite as excrutiatingly drawn-out as they were previously.
This time though there’s no manual “draw” as such, as it’s being done by computer - so presumably we’ll have lots of preamble, the big explainer of how it all works and then actually get down to business.
Champions League draw LIVE: Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn fixtures ahead of new format
16:50 , Karl Matchett
Quick run-down of where you’re looking for your favourite clubs:
From the Premier League - Man City (pot 1), Liverpool (pot 1), Arsenal (pot 2), Aston Villa (pot 4)
Scottish Premiership - Celtic (pot 3)
Selected European clubs - Real Madrid (1), PSG (1), Bayer Leverkusen (2), Juventus (2), AC Milan (2), PSV (3), Feyenoord (3), Monaco (4), Stuttgart (4)
What is the new Champions League format and how does the draw work?
16:40 , Karl Matchett
Ok for the final time before the draw, here’s a reminder and all the details of how it will work...
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
Champions League draw LIVE
16:30 , Karl Matchett
This is what they’ll all be playing for, at the Allianz Arena in Munich next year on 31 May.
Real Madrid have been the absolute dominant force in the Champions League era, six titles won since 2014 to take them to 15 European Cups overall.
Nobody else comes close - but can anybody stop them in year one of the new version?
AC Milan (seven), Bayern Munich, Liverpool (both six) and Barcelona (five) remain the closest clubs to the Spanish giants - but it’s a decade since their Catalan rivals won it, with only one new title each for Bayern and Liverpool in that time too.
Champions League enters a bold new era
16:20 , Karl Matchett
Quick history catch-up, then. We know this is the first year that the Champions League is moving to the Swiss model of league phase, so it’s all new and brave and exciting.
But what was it like before the long-lasting group stage-into-knockouts?
The Champions League was rebranded (from the European Cup) in 92/93, and it changed a few times in the 30 years which followed - there were two group stages for a while (awful), and back in the first campaign there was actually a couple of knockout rounds to get through to the groups. Just two groups, the final eight as such, with first place in each quartet going on to meet in the final.
That was a holdover from the 91/92 European Cup - which was the first to have a group stage and the last of that name.
Prior to that in 90/91, it was a straight knockout from the round of 32 (Real Madrid beat OB from Denmark 10-1 on aggregate and Malmo knocked out Besiktas) through to the final itself (Red Star Belgrade beat Marseille on penalties).
Which teams have qualified?
16:10 , Karl Matchett
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Germany: Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bologna, Juventus
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz
Uefa Europa League winners: Atalanta
Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica
Qualifiers: Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Sparta Prague, Lille, Red Bull Salzburg
Who were the last teams to qualify for the Champions League?
16:00 , Karl Matchett
Last night the second leg of the play-offs took place, giving us the final four sides involved.
Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb thrashed Qarabag to book their spot, Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Bodo/Glimt, Lille from France just about snuck through despite losing the second leg to Slavia Prague and Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava scored twice in the final eight minutes to leave Midtjylland heartbroken.
When are Champions League matches played this season?
15:40 , Karl Matchett
League phase
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Knockout stage
Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
Final: 31 May 2025
Aston Villa’s European Cup return
15:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Aston Villa are a former European champion having lifted the European Cup in 1982 - but their return to the Champions League ends a run of 41 years without playing in European football’s premier competition.
Unai Emery’s side gate-crashed the top four last season in a brilliant campaign that included wins over Manchester City and the double over Arsenal.
The club also reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they were beaten by Olympiacos, while Emery has an excellent record in European competitions - winning the Europa League a record four times.
Like Newcastle last season, Villa’s return to the Champions League should create some special nights under the lights at Villa Park - however, Newcastle crashed out in the group stage and it rather derailed their season, so Villa will hope to find a better balance.
They also have a new format to contend with.
What a Champions League draw could look like
15:01 , Jamie Braidwood
Let’s take Aston Villa, who are in pot 4, for an example.
Unai Emery’s side would draw two teams from each pot, including their own, to give them eight fixtures overall. One match from each pot would be home, the other away. And you can’t draw teams from your country.
Pot 1 - Real Madrid (h), RB Leipzig (a)
Pot 2 - Benfica (h), AC Milan (a)
Pot 3 - Feyenoord (h), Lille (a)
Pot 4 - Bologna (h), AS Monaco (a)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
14:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Among the changes to the draw, you will notice that the top national champions, eg from Spain, England, Italy, are no longer allocated into Pot 1. Bayer Leverkusen are in Pot 2, despite winning the Bundesliga.
That’s because the pots are now sorted by Uefa club coefficient, measured over the past five seasons. That’s why Aston Villa, having only returned to European competition last season, find themselves in Pot 4.
The pots themselves don’t matter as much now anyway, as teams will be drawn against two teams from each pot, inlcuding their own.
Every team in the draw will play two games against a team from Pot 1, for example, whether you are Real Madrid or Sturm Graz.
Champions League: League phase draw pots
14:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 4
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Monaco (FRA)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Bologna (ITA)
Girona (ESP)
Stuttgart (GER)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Brest (FRA)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
14:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 3
Feyenoord (NED)
Sporting CP (POR)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Salzburg (AUT)
Lille (FRA)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Young Boys (SUI)
Celtic (SCO)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
13:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 2
Leverkusen (GER)
Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Atalanta (ITA)
Juventus (ITA)
Benfica (POR)
Arsenal (ENG)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
AC Milan (ITA)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
13:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 1
Real Madrid (ESP)
Manchester City (ENG)
Bayern München (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Liverpool (ENG)
Inter (ITA)
Dortmund (GER)
Leipzig (GER)
Barcelona (ESP)
Which teams have qualified?
13:06 , Jamie Braidwood
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Germany: Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bologna, Juventus
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz
Uefa Europa League winners: Atalanta
Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica
Qualifiers: Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Sparta Prague, Lille, Red Bull Salzburg
How will the draw work?
12:40 , Jamie Braidwood
All eight matches will be played against different teams, with four at home and four away, and organised by seeding. All the results would contribute to the overall league ranking.
Teams will be seeded in four pots based on their individual club coefficient at the beginning of the season (the only exception being the Champions League titleholder always top seed in pot 1). Each team will then be drawn against two opponents from each pot, one of which will be at home and one away.
In the league phase teams cannot face opponents from their country and can be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same country.
All 36 teams will be manually drawn using physical balls. For every team manually drawn, a designated automated software will randomly draw eight opponents across the four pots, who will be revealed on screen in the draw hall and on television. The software will also decide which matches will be at home and which ones away.
What will the new Champions League look like?
12:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, rather than three teams twice as was previously the case
Four extra clubs will be added to take the number up to 36, and a single league format will be used. The league phase will determine an overall ranking – from 1st to 36th, with three points for a win and one for a draw as usual.
The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, with the 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering the play-off round over two legs, with a victory securing passage to the last 16. Teams who finish 25th or below will be eliminated and will not drop down to the Europa League.
Champions League: Key dates
12:00 , Jamie Braidwood
League phase
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Knockout phase
Knockout round play-offs draw: 31 January 2025
Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws: 21 February 2025
The new Champions League format is flawed. So who is it really for?
11:39 , Jamie Braidwood
It says something about the new Champions League that, as executives were preparing for their trip to Nyon for Thursday’s draw, one of the most common statements was: “How does this actually work, then?” Many are still getting their heads around it. They won’t be alone. Uefa has had to flood out explainers for the expanded 36-team super-group stage.
It means that the draw will do more than just decide who plays who in a series of largely inconsequential group games.
It is the first step in a three-year period that is going to change our understanding of and interaction with football. This won’t be the last time that people approach one of the major competitions and wonder how it works. There’s also the World Cup, that is bloating to 48 teams and at once removing its own sense of a self-contained elite event. In between, there’s the expanded 32-team Club World Cup at the end of this season, if it even takes place.
It really is a new era, with changed theme music, too.
Preview by Miguel Delaney
The new Champions League format is flawed. So who is it really for?
What is the new Champions League format and how does the draw work?
11:36 , Jamie Braidwood
The Champions League has undergone perhaps the most significant revamp in the competition’s history with a new format in place for the 2024/25 season.
Europe’s premier club competition has abandoned the traditional group stage structure as it enters a 33rd season since rebranding.
Instead, progress to the knockout rounds will be determined by an expanded league stage featuring 36 teams and two more rounds of midweek fixtures.
The final of this year’s competition will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich next May as Real Madrid bid to defend a continental crown won for the 15th time earlier this year.
Here is everything you need to know about the new format and the 2024/25 Champions League.
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
When is the 2024/25 Champions League draw?
11:34 , Jamie Braidwood
The draw will take place on Thursday 29 August from 5pm BST.
How to watch
The draw will be streamed live online via the Champions League website and Uefa YouTube channel.
Welcome
11:34 , Jamie Braidwood
The brand new Champions League begins with a format that Uefa hopes will revitalise Europe’s elite competition.
The old group stage faced criticism for being too predictable and the hope is that the new league phase will make for a more interesting dynamic.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League from the Premier League, while Real Madrid will look to defend their crown as the reigning champions, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final.
When is the Champions League draw? Start time and how to stream online
