Time for UEFA Champions League fun to kick off with the draw, that will decide which teams will each club play. There are 36 teams qualified for the league phase, and each will play eight games with eight different teams, four home and four away, and never from the same country, to ensure more varied and exciting matches.
Teams were placed in four different pots, depending on their UEFA coefficient, with each team facing two opponents from each pot, to ensure everyone will have a mostly balanced league phase, facing two teams from Pot 1, with top teams like Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool or Barcelona, as well as two teams from the lower categories, including Pot 3 and 4 where we can find teams from Kazakhstan (Kairat), Azerbaijan (Qarabağ FK), Norway (Bodø/Glimt) or Cyprus (Pafos).
The order of games and calendar will be announced on Saturday morning.
Champions League Draw. Live updates:
18:05: UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin gives an award to Chelsea for their "feat" of winning all UEFA competitions (including Champions League, Europa League and Conference League), something certainly eye catching but meaning that for a few seasons, Chelsea was not good enough to qualify for Champions League, bullying much, much lower ranked rivals at Conference League last year. But congratulations Chelsea!
18:15: Zlatan Ibrahimovic gets honorary award. This year he is also at the cover of EA FC 26. Kaká goes into stage too.
18:25: The draw properly starts. A reminder that it is made using a comptuer, and the results are completely random, despite how it looks. Four matches (H, home) and four (A, away). Here we go...
POT 1
BAYERN MUNICH: Chelsea (H), PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Arsenal (A), Sporting (H), PSV (A), Union SG (H), Pafos (A)
CHELSEA: Barcelona (H), Bayern (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), Qarabag (A)
REAL MADRID: Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A), Juventus (H), Benfica (A), Marseille (H), Olympiacos (A), Monaco (H), Kairat Almaty (A)
INTER MILAN: Liverpool (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Arsenal (H), Atleti (A), Slavia Praha (H), Ajax (A), Kairat Almaty (H), Union SG (A)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Inter (H), Manchester City (A), Villarreal (H), Juventus (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Tottenham (A), Athletic (H), Copenhagen (A)
LIVERPOOL: Real Madrid (H), Inter (A), Atleti (H), Frankfurt (A), PSV (H), Marseille (A), Qarabag (H), Galatasaray (A)
FC BARCELONA: Chelsea (A), PSG (A), Franfurt (H), Club Brugge (A), Olympiacos (H), Slavia PrAha (A), Copenhagen (H), Newcastle (A)
PSG: Bayern (H), Barcelona (A), Atalanta (H), Leverkusen (A), Tottenham (H), Sporting CP (A), Newcastle (H), Athletic Club (A)
MANCHESTER CITY: Borussia Dortmund (H), Real Madrid (A), Leverkusen (H), Villarreal (A), Napoli (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), Monaco (A)
POT 2
LEVERKUSEN: PSG (H), Man City (A), Villarreal (H), Benfica (A), PSV (H), Olympiacos (A), Newcastle (H), Copenhagen (A)
ARSENAL: Bayern Munich (H), Inter (A), Atleti (H), Brugge (A), Olympiacos (H), Slavia Praha (A), Kairat (H), Athletic (A)
ATALANTA: Chelsea (H), PSG (A), Brugge (H), Frankfurt (A), Slavia Praha (H), Marseille (A), Athletidc (H), Union SG (A)
BENFICA: Real Madrid (H), Chelsea (A), Leverkusen (H), Juventus (A), Napoli (H), Ajax (A), Qarabag (H), Newcastle A)
CLUB BRUGGE: Barcelona (H), Bayern (A), Arsenal (H), Atalanta (A), Marseille (H), Sporting (A), Monaco (H), Kairat (A)
FRANKFURT: Liverpool (H), Barcelona (A), Atalanta (H), Atleti (A), Tottenham (H), Napoli (A), Galatasaray (H), Qarabag (A)
JUVENTUS: Borussia Dortmund (H), Real Madrid (A), Benfica (H), Villarreal (A), Sporting (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Pafos (H), Monaco (A)
ATLÉTICO MADRID: Inter (H), Liverpool (A), Frankfurt (H), Arsenal (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), PSV (A), Union SG (H), Galatasaray (A)
VILLARREAL: Man City (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Juventus (H), Leverkusen (A), Ajax (H), Tottenham (A), Copenhagen (H), Pafos (A)
POT 3
MARSEILLE: Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Atalanta (H), Club Brugge (A), Ajax (H), Sporting CP (A), Newcastle (H), Union SHG (A)
TOTTENHAM: Borussia Dortmund (H), PSG (A), Villarreal (H), Frankfurt (A), Slavia Praha (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Copenhagen (H), Monaco (A)
BODO/GLIMT: Man City (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Juventus (H), Atleti (A), Tottenham (H), Slavia Praha (H), Galatasaray (A)
SPORTING CP: PSG (H), Bayern Munich (A), Club Brugge (H), Juventus (A), Marseille (H), Napoli (A), Kairat (H), Athletic (A)
OLYMPIACOS: Real Madrid (H), Barcelona (A), Leverkusen (H), Arsenal (A), PSV (H), Ajax (A), Pafos (H), Kairat (A)
AJAX: Inter (H), Chelsea (A), Benfica (H), Villarreal (A), Olympiacos (H), Marseille (A), Galatasaray (H), Qarabag (A)
SLAVIA PRAHA: Barcelona (H), Inter (A), Arsenal (H), Atalanta (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Tottenham (A), Athletic (H), Pafos (A)
PSV: Bayern (H), Liverpool (A), Atleti (H), Leverkusen (A), Napoli (H), Olympiacos (A), Union SG (H), Newcastle (A)
NAPOLI: Chelsea (H), Man City (A), Frankfurt (H), Benfica (A), Sporting CP (H), PSV (A), Qarabag (H), Copenhagen (A)
POT 4
GALATASARAY: Liverpool (H), Man City (A), Atleti (H), Frankfurt (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Ajax (A), Union SG (H), Monaco (A)
COPENHAGEN: Borussia (H), Barcelona (A), Leverkusen (H), Villarreal (A), Napoli (H), Tottenham (A), Kairat (H), Qarabag (A)
MONACO: Man City (H), Real Madrid (A), Juventus (H), Brugge (A), Tottenham (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), Pafos (A)
UNION SG: Inter (H), Bayern (A), Atalanta (H), Atleti (A), Marseille (H), PSV (A), Newcastle (H), Galatasaray (A)
QARABAG: Chelsea (H), Liverpool (A), Frankfurt (H), Benfica (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Copenhagen (H), Athletic (A)
NEWCASTLE: Barcelona (H), PSG (A), Benfica (H), Leverkusen (A), PSV (H), Marseille (A), Athletic (H), Union SG (A)
ATHLETIC CLUB: PSG (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Arsenal (H), Atalanta (A), Sporting (H), Slavia Praha (A), Qarabag (H), Newcastle (A)
PAFOS: Bayern (H), Chelsea (A), Villarreal (H), Juventus (A), Slavia Praha (H), Olympiacos (A), Monaco (H), Kairat (A)
KAIRAT ALMATY: Real Madrid (H), Inter (A), Brugge (H), Arsenal (A), Olympiacos (H), Sporting (A), Pafos (H), Copenhagen (A)
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