Champions League draw LIVE: Man City and Celtic face blockbusters with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich ties
The eight Champions League play-offs have been revealed, with a place in the last-16 in the tournament up for grabs
Manchester City will face Real Madrid in a blockbuster Champions League play-off tie, with Celtic taking on Bayern Munich for a place in the last-16.
Premier League champions City scraped through by beating Club Brugge and, as the 22nd seeds, knew they would face a true European heavyweight in the next round. Holders Madrid failed to finish in the top-eight as well, setting up a massive two-legged tie against City. Celtic, meanwhile, will be huge underdogs against German giants Bayern.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa are already through after claiming one of the top-eight spots in the inaugural league phase, but they will have to wait for next month’s last-16 draw for the knockout bracket to be fully set.
Liverpool finished top of the league standings and will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest, while Arsenal know one of AC Milan, PSV Feyenoord or Juventus awaits them. Aston Villa, the eighth seeds, can prepare for one of Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge.
In the other play-offs, PSG play Brest in an all-French tie, Monaco meet Benfica, Club Brugge take on Atalanta, Sporting entertain Dortmund, Feyenoord face Milan and Juventus challenge PSV.
This morning’s draw in Nyon will determine the play-offs and you can follow all the updates in the live blog below. The Europa League draw will follow at around 12pm GMT.
All-French battle set as PSG play Brest
There will be an all-French clash in the Champions League play-offs with Brest facing giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Brest have been the surprise package of this season’s Champions League and will be the underdogs against French champions PSG.
Sporting’s tie against Dortmund also looks a good one on paper, while there’s a double Dutch-Italian crossover with PSV v Juventus and Feyenoord v Milan.
Atalanta, the Europa League winners, will be delighted to draw Club Brugge, who scraped through in 24th position.
Benfica (16th) and Monaco (17th) finished next to each other in the table and were level on points, so fittingly, they meet in the play-offs.
Celtic face Bayern Munich clash
As for Celtic, they will face Bayern Munich and Harry Kane in what is the club’s first Champions League knockout tie since 2013.
The Glasgow side have played Bayern four times before in the Champions league, with their last meeting coming in the 2017/18 group stage. Bayern won 3-0 at home and 2-1 at Celtic Park.
Celtic lost 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League league phase, but they did beat RB Leipzig 3-1 at home.
Celtic will be home first against Bayern before travelling to Munich and they must come away with a positive result at Parkhead.
After all, the last time a Scottish team faced German opposition in Munich, in the opening game of Euro 2024, it did not end well.
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Man City vs Real Madrid history
Of the last three seasons, Real Madrid have triumphed twice in knockout ties. City’s victory came in the 2022/23 semi-finals, before beating Inter in the final. The last three times City and Real Madrid have met in the Champions League, the winner has gone on to lift the Champions League that season.
2023/24 quarter-finals:
Real Madrid 3-3 Man City
Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (Madrid won on pens)
2022/23 semi-finals
Real Madrid 1-1 Man City
Man City 4-0 Real Madrid
2021/22 semi-finals:
Man City 4-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid 3-1 Man City
Man City vs Real Madrid blockbuster set
This is not what Uefa were expecting when they created the Champions League play-off rounds.
But for the fourth season in a row, Manchester City will meet Real Madrid in the Champions League knockouts.
This will be their earliest meeting since clashing in the group stages of the 2012/13 campaign.
Real Madrid knocked City out in quarter-finals on penalties last season, going on to lift the Champions League at Wembley.
Champions League play-off draw
Let’s add the seeded top-eight teams:
Play-off 1: Brest vs PSG to play Liverpool or Barcelona
Play-off 2: Club Brugge vs Atalanta to play Lille or Aston Villa
Play-off 3: Manchester City vs Real Madrid to play Atletico Madrid or Leverkusen
Play-off 4: Juventus vs PSV to play Arsenal or Inter Milan
Play-off 5: Feyenoord vs Milan to play Inter Milan or Arsenal
Play-off 6: Celtic vs Bayern Munich to play Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid
Play-off 7: Sporting vs Dortmund to play Aston Villa or Lille
Play-off 8: Monaco vs Benfica to play Barcelona or Liverpool
Champions League knockout round dates
Knockout phase play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Last-16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
FULL Champions League play-off draw
Brest vs PSG
Monaco vs Benfica
PSV vs Juventus
AC Milan vs Feyenoord
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Champions League draw
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Champions League draw
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
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