Champions League draw: Real Madrid awaits Liverpool battle; PSG faces Bayern Munich

(NLDO) - The 2025-2026 Champions League draw in Monaco has created a series of fierce matches, promising a dramatic season right from the opening stage.

The draw for the 2025-2026 Champions League qualifying round took place on the night of August 28 in Monaco, one day after the play-off round ended and all 36 teams qualified were determined.

Keep the Champions League format

According to the announcement from UEFA, this year's tournament continues to apply a new competition format with 36 teams. Specifically, 27 teams have qualified based on their rankings in the top European national championships, plus 2 champions: PSG (Champions League champion) and Tottenham (Europa League champion). The remaining 7 spots belong to the teams that pass the play-off round and all will participate in this important ceremony.

Does Barcelona dream of revenge?

The 36 teams are divided into four seeding pots, based on the clubs' performance coefficients over the last five seasons. From pot 1, each team is drawn and paired with eight other opponents using a specialized software system, to ensure fairness in the tournament.

Each club will play eight qualifying matches, four at home and four away. The familiar rules apply: teams will not face opponents from the same country, nor will they face more than two clubs from the same footballing background. This promises to bring diversity and competition to the expanded group stage.

PSG vs Liverpool last season

According to the plan, the specific time of the group stage matches will be announced by UEFA on August 30. After 8 matches, the 8 clubs with the best results will directly qualify for the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9 to 24 will enter the 2-legged play-off round to compete for the remaining 8 spots.

Champions League: Hot from the group stage

Notable draw results:

PSG: Bayern Munich (SN), Barcelona (SK), Atalanta (SN), Leverkusen (SK), Tottenham (SN), Sporting (SK), Newcastle (SN), Athletic Bilbao (SK)

Bayern Munich: Chelsea (home - SN), PSG (away - SK), Club Brugge (SN), Arsenal (SK), Sporting Lisbon (SN), PSV Eindhoven (SK), Union SG (SN), Pafos (SK)

Chelsea: Barcelona (SN), Bayern Munich (SK), Benfica (SN), Atalanta (SK), Ajax (SN), Napoli (SK), Pafos (SN), Qarabag (SK)

Real Madrid: Manchester City (SN), Liverpool (SK), Juventus (SN), Benfica (SK), Marseille (SN), Olympiacos (SK), Monaco (SN), Kairat Almaty (SK)

Inter Milan: Liverpool (SN), Dortmund (SK), Arsenal (SN), Atletico Madrid (SK), Slavia Prague (SN), Ajax (SK), Kairat Almaty (SN), Union SG (SK)

Liverpool: Real Madrid (SN), Inter Milan (SK), Atletico Madrid (SN), Eintracht Frankfurt (SK), PSV Eindhoven (SN), Marseille (SK), Qarabag (SN), Galatasaray (SK)

Barcelona: PSG (SN), Chelsea (SK), Eintracht Frankfurt (SN), Club Brugge (SK), Olympiacos (SN), Slavia Prague (SK), Copenhagen (SN), Newcastle (SK)

Man City: Dortmund (SN), Real Madrid (SK), Bayer Leverkusen (SN), Villarreal (SK), Napoli (SN), Bodo/Glimt (SK), Galatasaray (SN), Monaco (SK)

Arsenal fell into the "group of death" with Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Kairat Almaty, Bilbao.

T ottenham vs PSG, Dortmund, Monaco, Villarreal, Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Copenhagen

Chelsea were honored to become the first club to win every UEFA title. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin personally presented a plaque with the team's image to the Chelsea representative. Along with the C1/Champions League Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup (old), the UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the European Super Cup, "The Blues" completed their European trophy collection by winning the Conference League last season.

The Champions League final will take place at Puskás Aréna (Budapest, Hungary) on May 30, 2026

Source: https://nld.com.vn/boc-tham-champions-league-real-madrid-cho-dai-chien-liverpool-psg-doi-dau-bayern-munich-196250829065623264.htm