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The draw for the league stage of the new-look UEFA Champions League took place on Thursday, throwing up a series of heavyweight fixtures including a trip for holders Real Madrid to Liverpool and a repeat of last season’s final between the Spanish giants and Borussia Dortmund. Every team will play eight games against eight different opponents in the new format of Europe’s elite club competition, with all 36 clubs now pooled together into one league rather than split into groups.
Madrid, who have signed France superstar Kylian Mbappe since winning a record-extending 15th European Cup, will also notably play AC Milan at home and will go to Atalanta. Real beat last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw earlier this month.
Liverpool, who are back in the Champions League after a one-season absence, will also notably meet Milan and take on tournament debutants Girona. However, supporters of the Anfield club will perhaps be most excited about the prospect of hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.
“There will be a lot of focus on the fixture against Real Madrid at Anfield, and rightly so because they are the holders of the competition, but at the same time there is so much quality among our other opponents that we will spread our attention evenly and take each game as it comes,” said Liverpool manager Arne Slot. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, winners of the competition in 2023, will play at home to Italian champions Inter Milan and go to both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
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