UEFA Champions League 2024-25 draw: Real Madrid vs. Liverpool, Bayern vs. Barcelona headline league phase

City up against Inter, PSG and Juventus

The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 edition has seen its first League Phase draw take place and it has paired some big names against each other straight off the bat. Defending champions Real Madrid have a reunion with Borussia Dortmund after last year's final as well as Liverpool and Milan. Manchester City were the first club out of the hat and landed on Inter, PSG and Juventus. 

Although the fixture list will not be known until this weekend, there are some big clashes to look forward to with RB Leipzig and PSG getting a number of top sides in particular. The Germans are up against Inter, Liverpool, Juve and Atletico while the French giants got City, Bayern, Atleti and Arsenal.

In Pot 2, Bayer Leverkusen got Inter at home, Liverpool away, Milan at home and Atleti away while the Spaniards got Leipzig at home, PSG away and Leverkusen at home. Juve got City at home and Leipzig away while Arsenal got PSG at home and Inter away and Milan got Liverpool at home and Real away.

Top seed draws

Manchester City: Inter home, PSG away, Brugge home, Juventus away, Feyenoord home, Sporting CP away, Sparta home and Bratislava away.

Inter: City away, Leipzig home, Arsenal home, Leverkusen, away, Zvezda home, Young Boys away, Monaco home and Sparta away.

Bayern: PSG home, Barca away, Benfica home, Shakhtar away, Dinamo home, Feyenoord away, Bratislava home, Villa away.

Leipzig: Inter away, Liverpool home, Juventus home, Atletico away, Sporting home, Celtic away, Villa home, Graz away.

Dortmund: Barca home, Real away, Shakhtar home, Brugge away, Celtic home, Dinamo away, Graz home and Bologna away.

Liverpool: Real home, Leipzig away, Leverkusen home, Milan away, Lille home, PSV away, Bologna home and Girona away.

Real: Dortmund home, Liverpool away, Milan home, Atalanta away, Salzburg home, Lille away, Stuttgart home and Brest away.

Barcelona: Bayern home, Dortmund away, Atalanta home, Benfica away, Young Boys home, Zvezda away, Brest home and Monaco away.

PSG: City home, Bayern away, Atleti home, Arsenal away, PSV home, Salzburg away, Girona home and Stuttgart away.

Select Pot 2 draws

Bayer Leverkusen: Inter home, Liverpool away, Milan home, Atleti away, Sporting home, Celtic away, Sparta home and Brest away.

Atletico Madrid: Leipzig home, PSG away, Leverkusen home, Benfica away, Lille home, Salzburg away, Bratislava home and Sparta away,

Juventus: City home, Leipzig away, Benfica home, Burgge away, PSV home, Lille away, Stuttgart home and Villa away.

Arsenal: PSG home, Inter away, Shakhtar home, Atalanta away, Dinamo home, Sporting away, Monco home and Girona away.

Milan: Liverpool home, Real away, Brugge home, Leverkusen away, Zvezda home, Dinamo away, Girona home and Bratislava away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 1:11 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Select Pot 2 draws

Bayer Leverkusen: Inter home, Liverpool away, Milan home, Atleti away, Sporting home, Celtic away, Sparta home and Brest away.

Atletico Madrid: Leipzig home, PSG away, Leverkusen home, Benfica away, Lille home, Salzburg away, Bratislava home and Sparta away,

Juventus: City home, Leipzig away, Benfica home, Burgge away, PSV home, Lille away, Stuttgart home and Villa away.

Arsenal: PSG home, Inter away, Shakhtar home, Atalanta away, Dinamo home, Sporting away, Monco home and Girona away.

Milan: Liverpool home, Real away, Brugge home, Leverkusen away, Zvezda home, Dinamo away, Girona home and Bratislava away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:53 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Major matchups

Some fascinating pairings already, so here is a recap of those top seeds and their main games. 

Manchester City get Inter at home, PSG away and Juventus away. 

Inter get City away, Arsenal at home and Leverkusen away. 

Bayern get PSG at home and Barcelona away.

RB Leipzig get Inter away, Liverpool at home, Juventus at home and Atletico Madrid away.

Borussia Dortmund get Barca at home and Real Madrid away.

Liverpool get Real at home, Bayer Leverkusen at home and Milan away.

Real get Dortmund at home, Liverpool away and Milan at home.

Barca get Bayern Munich at home and Dortmund away.

PSG get City at home, Bayern away, Atleti at home and Arsenal away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:47 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Top seed recap

Manchester City: Inter home, PSG away, Brugge home, Juventus away, Feyenoord home, Sporting CP away, Sparta home and Bratislava away.

Inter: City away, Leipzig home, Arsenal home, Leverkusen, away, Zvezda home, Young Boys away, Monaco home and Sparta away.

Bayern: PSG home, Barca away, Benfica home, Shakhtar away, Dinamo home, Feyenoord away, Bratislava home, Villa away.

Leipzig: Inter away, Liverpool home, Juventus home, Atletico away, Sporting home, Celtic away, Villa home, Graz away.

Dortmund: Barca home, Real away, Shakhtar home, Brugge away, Celtic home, Dinamo away, Graz home and Bologna away.

Liverpool: Real home, Leipzig away, Leverkusen home, Milan away, Lille home, PSV away, Bologna home and Girona away.

Real: Dortmund home, Liverpool away, Milan home, Atalanta away, Salzburg home, Lille away, Stuttgart home and Brest away.

Barcelona: Bayern home, Dortmund away, Atalanta home, Benfica away, Young Boys home, Zvezda away, Brest home and Monaco away.

PSG: City home, Bayern away, Atleti home, Arsenal away, PSV home, Salzburg away, Girona home and Stuttgart away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:46 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

PSG

PSG: City home, Bayern away, Atleti home, Arsenal away, PSV home, Salzburg away, Girona home and Stuttgart away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:45 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Barcelona

Barca: Bayern home, Dortmund away, Atalanta home, Benfica away, Young Boys home, Zvezda away, Brest home and Monaco away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:43 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Real Madrid

Real: Dortmund home, Liverpool away, Milan home, Atalanta away, Salzburg home, Lille away, Stuttgart home and Brest away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:42 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Liverpool

Liverpool: Real home, Leipzig away, Leverkusen home, Milan away, Lille home, PSV away, Bologna home and Girona away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:40 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Dortmund

Dortmund: Barca home, Real away, Shakhtar home, Brugge away, Celtic home, Dinamo away, Graz home and Bologna away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:38 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

RB Leipzig

Leipzig: Inter away, Liverpool home, Juventus home, Atletico away, Sporting home, Celtic away, Villa home, Graz away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:37 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Bayern Munich

Bayern: PSG home, Barca away, Benfica home, Shakhtar away, Dinamo home, Feyenoord away, Bratislava home, Villa away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:35 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Inter

Inter: City away, Leipzig home, Arsenal home, Leverkusen, away, Zvezda home, Young Boys away, Monaco home and Sparta away.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:31 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

First up

Manchester City are the first club out of the hat for the new format draw. Inter, PSG and Juventus are in their path.

Manchester City: Inter home, PSG away, Brugge home, Juventus away, Feyenoord home, Sporting CP away, Sparta home and Bratislava away. 

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:16 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Early awards

Two appearances from Champions League stars of years gone by with Gianluigi Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo receiving UEFA President's Award titles from Aleksander Ceferin. Once done, we can expect an explainer of the new format and draw etiquette before the process finally gets underway.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 12:07 pm ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Welcome latecomers

The qualifiers are done and the pots have been confirmed. Welcome to our coverage of the 2024-25 Champions League draw which is the first year with the brand new League Phase instead of the ousted Group Stage. Today's draw sees UEFA introduce a new format with a Swiss-system tournament taking center stage which adds four more teams and two more games to the schedule. You can catch up on all of the details before the first pairings take place. 

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:57 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Dream draws

Unlike the previous group stages, the League Phase can and will draw the big guns from Pot 1 against each other which creates a number of high-profile matchups that we will be guaranteed to see once between September and January. Pairing a few of the top pot sides together alone should make this interesting without even mentioning some of the top teams across the other three pots. There are even some fascinating jeopardy sides all the way down in Pot 4 which means that no draw will be considered easy.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:48 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

How to watch UCL draw on Golazo Network

Date: Thursday, August 29 | Time: 12 p.m. ET

Draw location: Grimaldi Forum -- Monaco

Watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:36 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

UCL knockout phase dates

Knockout round playoffs: Feb. 11-12 and 18-19 (2025)

Round of 16: March 4-5 and 11-12

Quarterfinals: April 8-9 and 15-16

Semifinals: April 29-30 and May 6-7

Final: May 31

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:24 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

UCL League Phase fixtures

Game 1: Sept. 17-19

Game 2: Oct. 1-2

Game 3: Oct. 22-23

Game 4: Nov. 5-6

Game 5: Nov. 26-27

Game 6: Dec. 10-11

Game 7: Jan. 21-22 (2025)

Game 8: Jan. 29 (2025)

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:12 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

What is the UCL league phase?

The group stage as we knew it is now gone. Instead, each team that reaches the new league phase will face eight different opponents. Four of these games will be played at home and the other four will take place away and the phase lasts for longer than the previous group stage with the eighth and final round of games slated for late January despite the regular late December break. The teams are split into four pots and each team will play against two teams from each of those pots. One home game and one away game against a team from each of those pots will make up the fixture list. The top eight teams in the table will qualify directly for the round of 16 with the teams ranked from ninth to 24th will go into the knockout round. Those finishing 25th and below will be eliminated from Europe and will not drop into the UEFA Europa League. The eight knockout round winners will then face the top eight teams in the round of 16 before the Champions League returns to its recognizable knockout format from the quarterfinals onwards.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 11:00 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

UCL League Phase pots

Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Barcelona.

Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and Milan.

Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Red Bull Salzburg, Young Boys, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille and Crvena Zvezda.

Pot 4: Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest and Slovan Bratislava.

[Aug 29, 2024 at 10:48 am ET · Jonathan Johnson]

Welcome

Thank you for joining our coverage of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 League Phase draw. The event in Monaco is just over an hour away but we will be building up to it and then reacting to the full draw once it has been made. We will fill you in on the new format that will be launching today as well as which teams are in which pots and the new fixture dates shortly.