The UEFA Champions League began in earnest for many fans around the world on August 28, when the draw for the league phase took place.
The final seven of the 36 teams that comprise this opening period of the competition — a revamped version of the old group phase — qualified via the playoff round to earn their places in the draw in Monaco.
The expanded competition means every team will play eight games rather than six, and the prospect of so-called “big” teams facing one another earlier in the tournament has increased. That means we should get some fascinating matchups.
The Sporting News has the completed league-phase draw below.
MORE: When are the UEFA Champions League games this season?
UEFA Champions League draw 2025/26: League phase
| Club | Pot 1 opponents | Pot 2 opponents | Pot 3 opponents | Pot 4 opponents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | |
| Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) | BMU | BAR | ATA | LEV | TOT | SPO | NEW | ATH |
| Real Madrid (RMA) | MCI | LIV | JUV | BEN | MAR | OLY | MON | KAI |
| Man City (MCI) | DOR | RMA | LEV | VIL | NAP | BGL | GAL | MON |
| Bayern Munich (BMU) | CHE | PSG | BRU | ARS | SPO | PSV | USG | PAF |
| Liverpool (LFC) | RMA | INT | ATM | FRA | PSV | MAR | QAR | GAL |
| Inter Milan (INT) | LIV | DOR | ARS | ATM | SLA | AJX | KAI | USG |
| Chelsea (ENG) | BAR | BMU | BEN | ATA | AJX | NAP | PAF | QAR |
| Borussia Dortmund (DOR) | INT | MCI | VIL | JUV | BGL | TOT | ATH | COP |
| Barcelona (BAR) | PSG | CHE | FRA | BRU | OLY | SLA | COP | NEW |
| Arsenal (ENG) | BMU | INT | ATM | BRU | OLY | SLA | KAI | ATH |
| Bayer Leverkusen (LEV) | PSG | MCI | VIL | BEN | PSV | OLY | NEW | COP |
| Atletico Madrid (ATM) | INT | LIV | FRA | ARS | BGL | PSV | USG | GAL |
| Benfica (BEN) | RMA | CHE | LEV | JUV | NAP | AJX | QAR | NEW |
| Atalanta (ATA) | CHE | PSG | BRU | FRA | SLA | MAR | ATH | USG |
| Villarreal (VIL) | MCI | DOR | JUV | LEV | AJX | TOT | COP | PAF |
| Juventus (JUV) | DOR | RMA | BEN | VIL | SPO | BGL | PAF | MON |
| Eintracht Frankfurt (FRA) | LIV | BAR | ATA | ATM | TOT | NAP | GAL | QAR |
| Club Brugge (BRU) | BAR | BMU | ARS | ATA | MAR | SPO | MON | KAI |
| Tottenham (TOT) | DOR | PSG | VIL | FRA | SLA | BGL | COP | MON |
| PSV (PSV) | BMU | LIV | ATM | LEV | NAP | OLY | USG | NEW |
| Ajax (AJX) | INT | CHE | BEN | VIL | OLY | MAR | GAL | QAR |
| Napoli (NAP) | CHE | MCI | FRA | BEN | SPO | PSV | QAR | COP |
| Sporting CP (SPO) | PSG | BMU | BRU | JUV | MAR | NAP | KAI | ATH |
| Olympiacos (OLY) | RMA | BAR | LEV | ARS | PSV | AJX | PAF | KAI |
| Slavia Prague (SLA) | BAR | INT | ARS | ATA | BGL | TOT | ATH | PAF |
| Bodo/Glimt (BGL) | DOR | MCI | JUV | ATM | TOT | SLA | MON | GAL |
| Marseille (FRA) | LIV | RMA | ATA | BRU | AJX | SPO | NEW | USG |
| Copenhagen (COP) | DOR | BAR | LEV | VIL | NAP | TOT | KAI | QAR |
| Monaco (MON) | MCI | RMA | JUV | BRU | TOT | BGL | GAL | PAF |
| Galatasaray (GAL) | LIV | MCI | ATM | FRA | BGL | AJX | USG | MON |
| Union SG (USG) | INT | BMU | ATA | ATM | MAR | PSV | NEW | GAL |
| Qarabag (QAR) | CHE | LIV | FRA | BEN | AJX | NAP | COP | ATH |
| Athletic Club (ATH) | PSG | DOR | ARS | ATA | SPO | SLA | QAR | NEW |
| Newcastle United (NEW) | BAR | PSG | BEN | LEV | MAR | PSV | ATH | USG |
| Pafos (PAF) | BMU | CHE | VIL | JUV | SLA | OLY | MON | KAI |
| Kairat Almaty (KAI) | RMA | INT | BRU | ARS | OLY | SPO | PAF | COP |
UEFA Champions League draw 2025/26: Live updates
7:08 p.m. local: Pots 2, 3, and 4 are all competed without a hitch, and we are now done with the draw! How did your club come out?
At first glance, it would appear that Arsenal and Tottenham have a soft draw, while Real Madrid, PSG, and Newcastle have a very difficult pathway!
A reminder, the fixtures themselves will be out
6:40 p.m. local: Pot 1 is complete! We have some exceptional matches to look forward to, including Barcelona vs. PSG, Real Madrid vs. Man City (again!), Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea, and Liverpool vs. Real Madrid.
6:30 p.m. local: HERE WE GO! Zlatan gets us started by drawing Bayern Munich first from Pot 1. The table above will be filled out as we go.
6:23 p.m. local: Kaka has been brought on stage to help Zlatan with the draw, and it appears they are close to beginning the part we all came for.
6:15 p.m. local: UEFA have now trotted out a truly ridiculous video hoping to recapture last year’s genuinely funny introduction of the new format featuring Zlatan Ibrahimovic. This time….it’s awful. Truly, genuinely awful. I mean, gag-worthy. It’s just Zlatan and the UEFA suits all hamming it up in some of the worst acting you’ve ever seen.
Now Zlatan and Alexander Ceferin are on stage talking about the video, and giving Zlatan the President’s Award for “helping the disadvantaged,” a claim which they do not expound upon. Goodness. Make it stop.
Here we go again…@Ibra_official pic.twitter.com/D7dt4hHm3K
— UEFA (@UEFA) August 28, 2025
6:07 p.m. local: Chelsea are recognised for being the first club ever to win all six UEFA competitions — the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League (accomplished last season), Cup Winners Cup, Super Cup, and Youth League.
Ceremony start: The league phase draw is set to begin shortly! There’s no telling what the ceremony will include, or how long they will take to get to the actual draw itself, but we are about to find out!
We are ushered in by a live performance of the full Champions League anthem, which in truth is a fantastic way to kick things off.
1 hour to draw time: Welcome to today’s UEFA Champions League draw! This is the second season of the “Swiss model” format, in which 36 teams compete in a league format to determine who goes through to the knockout phase.
UEFA Champions League draw pots
Below are the 36 teams in the draw for the Champions League “league phase”. The teams were divided into four seeding pots, and each side will be drawn to face one team from each pot.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSG (FRA) – holders | Arsenal (ENG) | Tottenham (ENG) | Copenhagen (DEN) |
| Real Madrid (SPA) | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | PSV (NED) | Monaco (FRA) |
| Manchester City (ENG) | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | Ajax (NED) | Galatasaray (TUR) |
| Bayern Munich (GER) | Benfica (POR) | Napoli (ITA) | Union SG (BEL) |
| Liverpool (ENG) | Atalanta (ITA) | Sporting CP (POR) | Qarabag (AZE) |
| Inter Milan (ITA) | Villarreal (SPA) | Olympiacos (GRE) | Athletic Club (SPA) |
| Chelsea (CHE) | Juventus (ITA) | Slavia Prague (CZE) | Newcastle United (ENG) |
| Borussia Dortmund (GER) | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | Bodo/Glimt (NOR) | Pafos (CYP) |
| Barcelona (SPA) | Club Brugge (BEL) | Marseille (FRA) | Kairat (KAZ) |
