Real Madrid, the defending champions of the UEFA Champions League, learned their opponents for the upcoming league phase of the prestigious European football tournament during the official draw ceremony held in Monaco on Thursday night. The draw has set up a challenging path for Carlo Ancelotti’s men as they aim to defend their title and extend their record tally of Champions League victories.
Real Madrid, who claimed their 15th Champions League title in June by defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley Stadium, will face a host of formidable opponents in the upcoming season. Among their toughest tests will be away matches against Liverpool and Atalanta, as well as home fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan. The draw also includes trips to Salzburg, Lille, Stuttgart, and Brest, rounding out a difficult but exciting schedule for Los Blancos.
Speaking after the draw, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed confidence in his team’s ability to overcome the challenges ahead. “We have a tough draw, but this is the Champions League, and we expect to face the best teams in Europe,” he said. “Our players are excited about the challenge, and we are ready to give it our all to defend our title.”
The Champions League draw always attracts significant attention from fans and media alike, and this year’s ceremony was no exception. With the introduction of the new league phase format, teams were drawn into eight groups of four, each featuring one team from Pots 1 to 4 based on their UEFA coefficient rankings. Real Madrid, as the defending champions, automatically qualified for Pot 1, ensuring they would face some of the strongest opponents in the competition.
Other top teams in the draw also received challenging fixtures. Manchester City, for example, will have to travel to Paris Saint-Germain, while Bayern Munich will face Barcelona at home. Arsenal, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time in several years, were drawn into a group featuring Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, and AS Monaco.
The new league phase format promises to provide even more excitement and drama than previous seasons. Each team will play six home and six away matches within their group, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stages. The new format also eliminates the need for play-off rounds, streamlining the competition and ensuring that only the strongest teams make it through to the latter stages.
For Real Madrid, the Champions League has long been a source of pride and success. With 15 titles to their name, they are the most successful team in the competition’s history. This season, however, they will have to navigate a difficult draw and prove that they remain the team to beat in European football.