On Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 6:00 p.m., the draw for the 2025–26 Champions League league phase took place, featuring of course Paris Saint-Germain (reigning French and European champions). Here are the teams PSG will have to face in order to progress in the competition. The draw also revealed fixtures for the other Pot 1 clubs and Ligue 1 representatives.
Qualified clubs by pot:
Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona.
Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta Bergamo, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge.
Pot 3: Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille.
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, AS Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat Almaty.
How the draw and the league phase work (source: UEFA):
“With the new format, teams will play eight matches in the league phase (formerly the group stage). They will no longer face three opponents twice (home and away), but eight different opponents — half at home, half away.
To determine the eight opponents, teams are first split into four pots. Each team is then drawn to face two opponents from each pot, playing one match at home and one away.
Clubs from the same country cannot face each other in the league phase, nor can more than two teams from the same league be drawn against the same opponent.”
Qualification rules:
- 1st to 8th place → automatic qualification for the Round of 16
- 9th to 24th place → play-off round (two legs)
- 25th to 36th place → eliminated from all European competitions
Opponents from Pot 1:
PSG (in bold):
- Bayern Munich (Home)
- FC Barcelona (Away)
- Atalanta (Home)
- Bayer Leverkusen (Away)
- Tottenham (Home)
- Sporting CP (Away)
- Newcastle (Home)
- Athletic Club Bilbao (Away)
Real Madrid: Man City (H), Liverpool (A), Juventus (H), Benfica (A), Marseille (H), Olympiakos (A), Monaco (H), Kairat Almaty (A)
Manchester City: Dortmund (H), Real Madrid (A), Leverkusen (H), Villarreal (A), Napoli (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), Monaco (A)
Bayern Munich: Chelsea (H), PSG (A), Brugge (H), Arsenal (A), Sporting CP (H), PSV (A), Union Saint-Gilloise (H), Pafos (A)
Liverpool: Real Madrid (H), Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (H), Frankfurt (A), PSV (H), Marseille (A), Qarabag (H), Galatasaray (A)
Inter Milan: Liverpool (H), Dortmund (A), Arsenal (H), Atletico Madrid (A), Slavia Prague (H), Ajax (A), Kairat Almaty (H), Union Saint-Gilloise (A)
Chelsea: Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), Qarabag (A)
Borussia Dortmund: Inter Milan (H), Man City (A), Villarreal (H), Juventus (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Tottenham (A), Athletic Club (H), Copenhagen (A)
FC Barcelona: PSG (H), Chelsea (A), Frankfurt (H), Brugge (A), Olympiakos (H), Slavia Prague (A), Copenhagen (H), Newcastle (A)
French clubs:
Marseille (OM): Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Atalanta (H), Brugge (A), Ajax (H), Sporting CP (A), Newcastle (H), Union Saint-Gilloise (A)
Monaco: Man City (H), Real Madrid (A), Juventus (H), Brugge (A), Tottenham (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), Pafos (A)
