Holders Real Madrid face Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in new-look Champions League
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with an award for being the all-time top scorer of the Champions League.
PHOTO: AFP
MONACO – The draw for the league stage of the new-look Champions League took place on Aug 29, 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 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.
Real, who won a record-extending 15th European Cup, will also notably play AC Milan at home and go to Europa League winners Atalanta, who they beat in the Uefa Super Cup earlier in August.
Liverpool, who are back in the Champions League after a one-season absence, will meet Milan as well 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, who are 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,” said Reds manager Arne Slot. “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.”
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, winners of the competition in 2023, will welcome Italian champions Inter Milan and go to both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
However, they were also handed more comfortable opponents like Club Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava.
Other standout clashes include Bayern Munich against PSG and Barcelona, and Arsenal against Inter and PSG.
“It is the best competition in the world with the best clubs in the world. With the new format, it will be harder but that is what we like,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
The 36 sides were split into four seeded pots of nine for the draw. Each team will face two clubs from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. The first matches will be played from Sept 17 to 19.
Among the new faces are French club Brest, who were handed tough games against two Spanish sides Real and Barcelona.
Besides welcoming the Reds, Girona will also host Arsenal, and go to PSG and Milan.
At the end of the league phase, the top eight clubs will advance directly to the round of 16. Those ranked from ninth to 24th places will go into a play-off round, from which will emerge the remaining eight sides advancing to the last 16.
The Europa League draw took place on Aug 30, also in Monaco.
Notably, Manchester United will travel to Istanbul to face Turkish giants Fenerbahce, now coached by Jose Mourinho – their Europa League-winning manager in 2017.
They will also host 2022 Europa League runners-up Rangers and travel to Portugal to meet Porto, another of Mourinho’s old sides.
Tottenham Hotspur will also take on Rangers but in Glasgow. They also host AS Roma and go to Istanbul to face Turkish champions Galatasaray. AFP
