Champions League draw: Man City to visit PSG, Liverpool to host Real Madrid, Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich
Manchester City to face Inter Milan at San Siro, a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final, Liverpool to host holders Real Madrid, while Aston Villa will play Bayern Munich and Juventus at home; Arsenal host PSG and also visit Inter, while Celtic travel to Borussia Dortmund and Villa
Friday 30 August 2024 06:06, UK
Manchester City have been drawn at home to Inter Milan and away to Paris Saint-Germain as part of the new-look league phase to the Champions League that UEFA hopes will provide a more exciting first stage of the competition.
At the draw in Monte Carlo, the revamped 36-team competition threw up a showdown between City and Inter, the side they beat to finally lift the trophy in 2023. The new format sees all 36 teams forming a single league, with each entrant playing four home games and four away.
The top eight will go straight into the last 16 while a round of play-offs will decide the other eight teams.
City were the first team pulled out by former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Cristiano Ronaldo was the man then tasked with pushing a large button on the desk in front of him to allocate eight computer-generated opponents.
Liverpool were the next British team pulled out and landed a home fixture against holders Real Madrid. Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Lille, PSV Eindhoven, Bologna and Girona made up their schedule.
Liverpool opponents
Real Madrid (h) Leipzig (a)
Leverkusen (h), Milan (a)
Lille (h), PSV (a)
Bologna (h), Girona (a)
Meanwhile, Arsenal were drawn out of pot two already knowing they would face PSG, Atalanta and Inter Milan. The rest of their opponents came out as Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco and Girona.
Aston Villa - former European champions having lifted the European Cup in 1982 - have been given a mouth-watering home encounter with Bayern Munich.
Image:Aston Villa have ended their 41-year wait to play at Europe's top table
Aston Villa opponents
Bayern Munich (h), RB Leipzig (a)
Juventus (h), Club Brugge (a)
Celtic (h), Young Boys (a)
Bologna (h), Monaco (a)
Unai Emery's side will also host Juventus as they return to the Champions League, ending a run of 41 years without playing in European football's premier competition, as well as hosting Scottish champions Celtic. Their other five fixtures will be against Leizpig, Club Brugge, Young Boys, Bologna and Monaco.
As well as Villa, Celtic - residing in Pot Three - will face last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Club Brugge, Atalanta, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava.
Celtic opponents
RB Leipzig (h), Borussia Dortmund (a)
Club Brugge (h), Atalanta (a)
Young Boys (h), Dinamo Zagreb (a)
Solvan Bratislava (h), Aston Villa (a)
How the new format will work
For the new season, the Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, a transformation from the traditional group stage to a single league phase including all participating teams.
Each team has been drawn against two different teams from each pot, playing one team at home and one away. Teams will play eight matches against eight different teams.
Every club will now be guaranteed a minimum of eight league-stage games against eight different opponents (four home games, four away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home-and-away basis.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stages, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated from all competitions.
Will the new format lead to more early excitement?
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Sky Sports News' Chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol reacts to the Champions League draw, which included appearances from Cristano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon.
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
"It's really easy, when it comes to modern football, to be a bit cynical and jaded, but I have to say that is the best draw I've ever seen.
Image:The new format sees all 36 teams forming a single league, with each entrant playing four home games and four away
"It's probably the first draw I've ever seen that I've enjoyed. It was actually entertaining.
"It had Cristiano Ronaldo, who'd flown in from Saudi Arabia, Gianluigui Buffon, two brilliant presenters. It had a brilliant film, which had incredible acting by some of the most famous footballers in the world; Rodri was in it and Zlatan stole the show in explaining how the tournament has changed.
"When we got to the actual draw, that was brilliant as well. Gone were all of those balls and glass bowls - we basically had Buffon picking out one team and then Ronaldo - who, I have to say, looked a little bit bored - was the one who was pressing a button and, straightaway, the computer would come up with that team's eight opponents.
Image:Cristiano Ronaldo helped conduct the draw of the revamped 36-team competition in Monte Carlo
"It was really slick, it was really entertaining, fast-paced and also, it has thrown up some incredible games.
"For instance, a couple of years ago, the final was Inter Milan vs Man City - this time around, that is just a league phase game. Also Barcelona vs Bayern, PSG vs Man City, Real Madrid vs Liverpool, PSG vs Arsenal, Bayern vs PSG. These could all be finals.
"I, for one, am totally won over. I think this is going to be a brilliant new format."
Champions League draw in full
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Image:Carlo Ancelotti lifts the Champions League trophy
Borussia Dortmund (h)
Liverpool (a)
AC Milan (h)
Atalanta (a)
Salzburg (h)
Lille (a)
Stuttgart (h)
Brest (a)
Liverpool
Real Madrid (h)
RB Leipzig (a)
Bayer Leverkusen (h)
AC Milan (a)
Lille (h)
PSV (a)
Bologna (h)
Girona (a)
PSG
Man City (h)
Bayern Munich (a)
Atletico Madrid (h)
Arsenal (a)
PSV (h)
Salzburg (a)
Girona (h)
Stuttgart (a)
Atletico Madrid
RB Leipzig (h)
PSG (a)
Bayer Leverkusen (h)
Benfica (a)
Lille (h)
Salzburg (a)
Solvan Bratislava (h)
Sparta Prague (a)
Atalanta
Real Madrid (h)
Barcelona (a)
Arsenal (h)
Shakhtar Donetsk (a)
Celtic (h)
Young Boys (a)
Sturm Graz (h)
Stuttgart (a)
Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund (h)
Man City (a)
Juventus (h)
AC Milan (a)
Sporting CP (h)
Celtic (a)
Aston Villa (h)
Sturm Graz (a)
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The new draw system took around 35 minutes - the same duration as the manual draws for the previous 32-team format with a group phase and knockout stage.
Without the bespoke software, an old-fashioned manual draw for the expanded competition would have taken four hours and require up to 1,000 balls and 36 glass bowls.
When will fans know the fixture dates?
The finalised fixture list will be released on Saturday August 31.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League league-stage matches?
Matchday 1: September 17-19, 2024
Matchday 2: October 1/2, 2024
Matchday 3: October 22/23, 2024
Matchday 4: November 5/6, 2024
Matchday 5: November 26/27, 2024
Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024
Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025
Matchday 8: January 29, 2025
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stages?
Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
Final: May 31, 2025
Where is the Champions League final being held in 2025?
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.
