Champions League draw: Find out which teams will face each other in the first round of the competition

This Thursday marked the draw for the UEFA Champions League, which returns this season with a completely different format than usual. The classic group stage will now be replaced by a series of direct clashes. The aim of this change is to give lower-ranked teams a better chance of reaching further in the competition.

The draw resulted in some favorable and other more difficult matchups for some of the teams. There will also be some duels between titans of European soccer, such as the match between the two most successful teams in the Champions League (Real Madrid and AC Milan), as well as FC Barcelona-Bayern Munich.

How the draw went for the Spanish teams

In addition to hosting the Italian team, reigning champions Real Madrid will play three matches at the Santiago Bernabeu against Borussia Dortmund, RB Salzburg and Stuttgart, while visiting the stadiums of Liverpool, Atalanta, Lille and Brest.

FC Barcelona, apart from hosting Bayern Munich, will be visited by Atalanta, Young Boys and Brest, while they will travel to Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Red Star and AS Monaco.

The other representative of the Spanish capital, Atlético de Madrid, will play at home against RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Slovan Bratislava. They will play away against Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, RB Salzburg and Sparta Prague.

Lastly, last season's La Liga surprise team, Girona, will make their Champions League debut against Liverpool, Arsenal, Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava at home and away against Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Sturm Graz.

How the English teams fared

Manchester City, last season's Premier League champions, will play four matches at the Etihad Stadium against Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Feyenoord and Sparta Prague. while it travel to face Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Sporting Lisbon and Slovan Bratislava.

The English team with the most Champions League titles in its trophy cabinet, Liverpool, will host Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Bologna. It will try to defeat RB Leipzig, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Girona away.

For Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and AS Monaco will visit their home stadium, while they will play four away games against Inter Milan, Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon and Girona.

The English representation is completed by Aston Villa, which returns to the competition after 42 years. On their return, they will face Bayern Munich, Juventus, Celtic and Bologna at their home stadium. They will visit RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Young Boys and AS Monaco.

Apart from the Spanish and English teams, another interesting duel will be Bayern Munich-Paris Saint-Germain in Germany.

This first phase will begin on Sept. 17 and conclude on Jan. 29, 2025, the first time in history that the Champions League first phase ends in this month. This season, the final will be played at Allianz Arena (Bayern Munich’s home stadium) on May 31, 2025.