Competition heats up in the Champions League as Liverpool and Manchester City take on Real Madrid, while Paris Saint-Germain face a challenging draw
In an exciting turn of events, the draw for the group stage of the 2025/26 Champions League has been announced, with all 36 teams pooled together into one league for the first time.
The new format sees each team playing eight games against eight different opponents. This means that the top clubs will face some challenging encounters, as they battle it out for a spot in the last 16.
One of the most anticipated matchups is between last season's Champions League winners, PSG, and Atalanta at home, as well as away games against Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao. PSG, who struggled in the league phase last season and finished 15th, will be hoping to turn things around this time around. They will also face tough tests against Bayern Munich at home and a trip to Barcelona.
Barcelona, on the other hand, will visit both Chelsea and Newcastle, while Luis Enrique's team, who won the Champions League last season, will be looking to defend their title. They will face Atalanta at home and Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao away.
City, coached by Pep Guardiola, will welcome Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli, and Galatasaray to the Etihad Stadium. They will also travel to Villarreal, Monaco, and Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt. City will also host Premier League champions Liverpool at home and face Real Madrid at home in the Champions League.
Real Madrid, under the leadership of Xabi Alonso, will play City at home in the Champions League and will host tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, while they travel to London to play Arsenal.
Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta, will entertain Bayern, Atletico, and must go to Inter Milan and to Bilbao. They will also play against Turkish champions Galatasaray at home.
Liverpool, coached by Arne Slot, will have a tough schedule, with home games against Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Qarabag of Azerbaijan, Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish champions Galatasaray.
The first round of games will take place across three days from September 16 to 18, with the eighth and final matchday scheduled for January 28. The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th will go into the knockout round play-offs.
The Champions League final will take place in the Hungarian capital Budapest on May 30 next year, with the game kicking off at 6:00 pm local time.
This promises to be an exciting season, with many thrilling encounters between the world's top clubs. Fans can look forward to some nail-biting matches as the teams fight for a place in the knockout stages.
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