UEFA Champions League 2025-26 Draw Results: Full Schedule, Format and Dates Revealed

As the most elite club football tournament in Europe, the UEFA Champions League represents the best teams and greatest players on the continent. UEFA organizes the tournament each year, inviting clubs from all over Europe to compete to earn one of the most desired trophies in all of football. With its storied history, memorable matches, and famous moments, the UEFA Champions League is truly a combination of tradition and the maximum level of thrills of modern football. 

Each year, teams pass through qualification rounds, a league stage, and into knockout rounds, and then the final. There are worldwide celebrations of the tournament, breathtaking venues filled with passionate fans, and fierce rivalries; the UEFA Champions League determines not only the best football team on the continent but also influences the history of the game. Tactically mature contests to awe-inspiring comebacks; every year, the UEFA Champions League presents the best the game has to offer.

Check Out: UEFA Champions League Winners List (1955 to 2025)

Champions League Draw Results

The league-phase draw for the the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League was held on August 28 in Monaco, as all 36 clubs got ready for an exciting European pilgrimage.

Under the new 36-team league format, each club will play eight different opponents, and the draw provided some genuine blockbuster matches. 

Key Matchups for Top Contenders

• Real Madrid face a stacked schedule, including clashes with Manchester City, Juventus, Benfica, and Galatasaray, alongside a trip to Kazakhstan to meet debutants Kairat Almaty.
  

• Liverpool were drawn into a star-studded path with Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, and Marseille among their opponents.
  

• Manchester City will take on Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and Monaco, as well as Real Madrid, in one of the toughest slates of the draw.
  

• Chelsea face giants like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, along with Atalanta, Ajax, and newcomers Qarabağ and Pafos.
  

• Barcelona have a high-profile draw with PSG, Benfica, and Slavia Prague, as well as a showdown with English club Newcastle United.

Arsenal, Juventus, PSG in Mixed Tests

Arsenal will take on Bayern Munich, Inter, Atlético Madrid, and Athletic Club, meaning they have a balanced, yet competitive, journey.

Juventus face Dortmund, Benfica, Villarreal, and Bodø/Glimt with a particularly tricky trip to Norway.

PSG, the reigning champions, might arguably have the most difficult draw of them all. They will play Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, and Leverkusen, a journey already dubbed the ‘group of death’ by fans and pundits alike.

Champions League 2025-26 Important Dates

Here is the complete list and update on important dates of the Champions League 2025-26 matches: 

League Phase

The league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025–26 will occur over a period of 8 match days, which will start mid-September and finish at the end of January. 

Match day 1 will take place on 16-18 September 2025, followed by match day 2 on 30 September and 1 October 2025.

After match day 2,  match day 3 will be on 21 and 22 October 2025, and match day 4 on 4 and 5 November 2025. 

The next teams will compete on match day 5 on 25-26 November 2025, followed by match day 6 on 9-10 December 2025 to close out 2025.

After a winter break, the league phase will resume with match day 7 on 20-21 January 2026, with its conclusion on match day 8 on 28 January 2026.

Knock-out Play-offs

Draw: 30 January 2026

First Legs: 17-18 February 2026

Second Legs: 24-25 February 2026

Knock-out Stage

Round of 16 Draw: 27 February 2026

Round of 16 Matches: 10-11 and 17-18 March 2026

Quarter-finals: 7-8 and 14-15 April 2026

Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May 2026

Final: 30 May 2026