UEFA Champions League Draw: Madrid’s Alexander Arnold set for Anfield return; title holders PSG face Barcelona, Bayern

Premier League champions Liverpool and fellow English giants Manchester City are set to face Real Madrid, the most successful European club, in the league stage of the UEFA Champions League, the draw for which was revealed on Thursday. Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, have been handed a tough list of opponents which includes former winners Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Xabi Alonso’s men, who had won their 15th UCL title last year, face City on home turf and take on Arne Slot’s Liverpool at Anfield – which sets up an interesting homecoming of sorts for English defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool, the team that had finished top of the table at the end of the league stage last season only to get knocked out by eventual champions PSG in the last-16, also face Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven and Azerbaijani club Qarabag at home. Slot’s men then travel to mainland Europe to face last season’s runners-up Inter Milan as well as Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille and Turkish champions Galatasaray.

“Like last season, it is a very challenging draw, but we knew that it would be,” Slot told Liverpool’s official website.

The Reds beat 2024 European champions Real 2-0 at Anfield in the league phase of last season’s competition. The rematch will see Alexander-Arnold go back to face his old team after leaving Liverpool for Madrid in June.

“To be able to welcome Real Madrid to Anfield again is something special,” Slot added.

“Last season’s game was of course a memorable one, and I expect the same this time around. That is, I am sure, a fixture that the whole world will be looking at.”

De Bruyne meets City

City, who won the Champions League in 2023, will welcome Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli and Galatasaray to the Etihad Stadium.

As well as Real, they will also visit Villarreal, Monaco and Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt.

A home meeting with Napoli will mean a return to Manchester for Kevin De Bruyne, who departed City in June for Italy after a decade with the club.

PSG will entertain Bayern and go to Barcelona, while the French club also have home fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

Luis Enrique’s team went on to win the Champions League last season but only after struggling amid some difficult games in the league phase, in which they finished 15th.

They have no obviously straightforward fixtures this time, as they also face Atalanta at home as well as Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao away.

“We have forgotten about last season,” insisted PSG’s Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi, present for the draw in Monaco. “Today we are the champions, but everybody wants to be the champions.”

Final in Budapest

Every team now plays eight games against eight different opponents in the new format of Europe’s elite club competition, which was introduced last season. All 36 clubs are pooled together into one league rather than split into groups.

The top eight teams advance to the last 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th go into the knockout round play-offs. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

Other fixtures to look out for will include Barcelona visiting both Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal – semi-finalists last season – entertain Bayern and Atletico and must also go to Inter Milan and to Bilbao.

Tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who ousted Scottish champions Celtic on penalties in the play-off round, will host Real and travel to London to play Arsenal. Minnows Pafos of Cyprus will visit Chelsea and face Bayern at home.

UEFA is not expected to announce specific fixture dates until Saturday, but the first round of games will take place across three days from September 16 to 18. The eighth and final matchday is scheduled for January 28.

This season’s Champions League final will take place in Hungarian capital Budapest on May 30 next year, with UEFA announcing on Thursday that the game will kick off at 6:00 pm local time rather than the usual 9:00 pm.

With AFP inputs