UEFA Champions League Draw: Real Madrid vs Liverpool & All The Top Matches To Be Excited About

The UEFA Champions League 2024-25 league phase draw did not disappoint at all as big heavyweights in Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona grabbed all the headlines as it served up some mouthwatering fixtures. 

In some marquee matchups defending champions Real Madrid will face off against Liverpool while Barcelona and Bayern Munich face each other again. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will take on PSG. 

Here are all the mouthwatering fixtures in the Champions League 24-25 group phase. 

• Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
• Manchester City vs Inter Milan
• Liverpool vs Real Madrid
• Bayern Munich vs PSG
• PSG vs Manchester City
• Arsenal vs PSG
• Liverpool vs Leverkusen
• Real Madrid vs Dortmund
• Arsenal vs PSG
• Real Madrid vs AC Milan

How the new UCL 2024-25 format will work?

A complex draw ceremony in Monaco gave eight-team slates of opponents for all 36 teams in the bigger and more lucrative Champions League.

The traditional 32-team group stage played each season since 2003 was abolished in favor of a single-standings league. Now, 36 teams each will play eight games against eight different opponents through January.

The top eight in the standings in January go direct to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.

The new format was created by UEFA under pressure from influential clubs who wanted more guaranteed games and a wider variety of high-profile opponents.

(With AP Inputs)

The new league phase will have 144 total games compared to 96 in the group stage last season. By also adding a new knockout playoffs round in February, the competition overall has 189 games instead of 125.

The 36 teams will share a UEFA prize money fund of at least 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), a raise of 25% on last season.