Liverpool and Manchester City will both face Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League after Thursday’s draw, while holders Paris Saint-Germain were handed a daunting set of fixtures, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Xabi Alonso’s Real will play City at the Bernabéu and travel to Anfield to take on Premier League champions Liverpool in two of the standout ties of the league phase.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool, who topped the league phase last season before being knocked out by PSG in the last 16, will also host Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan. They must travel to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish champions Galatasaray.
City, winners of the 2023 Champions League, will host Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli, and Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium. They will also visit Villarreal, Monaco, Real Madrid, and Norwegian newcomers Bodø/Glimt.
PSG, led by Luis Enrique, will entertain Bayern Munich and welcome Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United to Paris, while also travelling to Barcelona. The French champions face Atalanta at home, with away trips to Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao.
The new Champions League format, introduced last season, features 36 teams in a single league, with each club playing eight matches against different opponents. The top eight progress directly to the last 16, while teams placed ninth to 24th enter knockout play-offs. The bottom 12 are eliminated.
Other highlights include Barcelona visiting Chelsea and Newcastle, Arsenal hosting Bayern and Atletico, and Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, making their debut, set to host Real and travel to Arsenal. Pafos of Cyprus will meet Chelsea and Bayern.
The first round of fixtures is scheduled between 16 and 18 September, with the final to be staged in Budapest on 30 May next year. UEFA confirmed the showpiece will kick off at 6:00 pm local time, earlier than the traditional 9:00 pm slot.