After the 2024/25 Champions League draw concluded, challenging situations emerged for teams like Liverpool and PSG.

UEFA introduced a new draw format for the Champions League starting in the 2024/25 season. This season, 36 clubs will enter a new phase known as the League phase (formerly the group stage), allowing four additional teams to join Europe’s premier club competition.

Under this new format, teams will play 8 matches (4 at home and 4 away) against 8 different opponents, as opposed to the previous format of 2 matches against 3 teams. This change aims to offer fans more balanced and competitive matches across all stages.

To determine the eight opponents, teams are categorized into four pots based on their club coefficients at the start of the season, with the reigning Champions League winners always placed in pot 1. Each team will face two opponents from each pot, one home and one away.

The draw process involves manually drawing teams from physical balls, with special software then randomly assigning 8 opponents from 4 pots to each team, displaying the results on screens in the draw room and on television. This software also determines which matches will be home and away.

The draw begins with the first pot, assigning 8 opponents to each of the 9 teams (one at a time) and continues with the remaining pots in descending order until all teams know their 8 opponents. The software ensures randomness within the predetermined drawing framework.

While the draw is complete, the fixtures are yet to be confirmed. UEFA will announce the fixtures on Saturday, with matches scheduled to start the week of September 16.

After the 8 rounds of matches, the final Champions League 2024/25 rankings will be set. The top 8 teams will advance directly to the round of 16 and become seeded.

The draw has produced some exciting matchups, particularly involving top English teams. For example, Man City will face PSG and travel to Juventus, while Liverpool will take on Xabi Alonso’s Bayern Leverkusen.

Teams ranked 9th to 16th will face teams ranked 17th to 24th in a play-off round consisting of 2 home and away matches. The 8 winners will progress to the Champions League round of 16. Teams ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from the tournament and will not move to the Europa League as in previous seasons.

From the round of 16 onwards, the competition format remains unchanged. Teams will be drawn into pairs and play two home and away matches, with the final held at a neutral venue chosen by UEFA in advance. The final will take place on a Saturday, while other matches will be played midweek.