Champions League draw LIVE: Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn fixtures ahead of new format
The draw for the new-look, 36-team league phase was held at a special ceremony in Monte Carlo
A new era of the Champions League arrives as the draw is held for the inaugural 36-team format.
The old group stage is out, with a new-look league phase arriving to bring what Uefa hope will be a more exciting first stage of the competition. As usual, teams cannot face opponents from their country, but there are some blockbuster ties as for the first time clubs can face rivals from the same pot - meaning that Liverpool have been paired with Real Madrid while Manchester City will face two Italian giants, among others. Meanwhile, Aston Villa face Celtic in a classic battle of Britain.
Follow all the reaction from the Champions League draw in our live blog below:
How will the draw work?
All eight matches will be played against different teams, with four at home and four away, and organised by seeding. All the results would contribute to the overall league ranking.
Teams will be seeded in four pots based on their individual club coefficient at the beginning of the season (the only exception being the Champions League titleholder always top seed in pot 1). Each team will then be drawn against two opponents from each pot, one of which will be at home and one away.
In the league phase teams cannot face opponents from their country and can be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same country.
All 36 teams will be manually drawn using physical balls. For every team manually drawn, a designated automated software will randomly draw eight opponents across the four pots, who will be revealed on screen in the draw hall and on television. The software will also decide which matches will be at home and which ones away.
What will the new Champions League look like?
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, rather than three teams twice as was previously the case
Four extra clubs will be added to take the number up to 36, and a single league format will be used. The league phase will determine an overall ranking – from 1st to 36th, with three points for a win and one for a draw as usual.
The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, with the 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering the play-off round over two legs, with a victory securing passage to the last 16. Teams who finish 25th or below will be eliminated and will not drop down to the Europa League.
Champions League: Key dates
League phase
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Knockout phase
Knockout round play-offs draw: 31 January 2025
Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws: 21 February 2025
The new Champions League format is flawed. So who is it really for?
It says something about the new Champions League that, as executives were preparing for their trip to Nyon for Thursday’s draw, one of the most common statements was: “How does this actually work, then?” Many are still getting their heads around it. They won’t be alone. Uefa has had to flood out explainers for the expanded 36-team super-group stage.
It means that the draw will do more than just decide who plays who in a series of largely inconsequential group games.
It is the first step in a three-year period that is going to change our understanding of and interaction with football. This won’t be the last time that people approach one of the major competitions and wonder how it works. There’s also the World Cup, that is bloating to 48 teams and at once removing its own sense of a self-contained elite event. In between, there’s the expanded 32-team Club World Cup at the end of this season, if it even takes place.
It really is a new era, with changed theme music, too.
Preview by Miguel Delaney
The new Champions League format is flawed. So who is it really for?
What is the new Champions League format and how does the draw work?
The Champions League has undergone perhaps the most significant revamp in the competition’s history with a new format in place for the 2024/25 season.
Europe’s premier club competition has abandoned the traditional group stage structure as it enters a 33rd season since rebranding.
Instead, progress to the knockout rounds will be determined by an expanded league stage featuring 36 teams and two more rounds of midweek fixtures.
The final of this year’s competition will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich next May as Real Madrid bid to defend a continental crown won for the 15th time earlier this year.
Here is everything you need to know about the new format and the 2024/25 Champions League.
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
When is the 2024/25 Champions League draw?
The draw will take place on Thursday 29 August from 5pm BST.
How to watch
The draw will be streamed live online via the Champions League website and Uefa YouTube channel.
Welcome
The brand new Champions League begins with a format that Uefa hopes will revitalise Europe’s elite competition.
The old group stage faced criticism for being too predictable and the hope is that the new league phase will make for a more interesting dynamic.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League from the Premier League, while Real Madrid will look to defend their crown as the reigning champions, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final.
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