FC Barcelona's 8 rivals in the league phase of the 2024/2025 Champions League

The Champions League has received a brutal facelift from UEFA, which has eliminated the classic group stage of recent decades. Starting this year, the classification of the first phase will be global and the 36 teams will compete to advance to the playoffs, which will be the next phase of the tournament. However, not everyone will play against everyone and this Thursday, in the draw for this group, the matchups that will take place have been defined.

FC Barcelona, ​​which was in the first pot, will play against Bayer Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Benfica, Young Boys, Red Star, Brest and Monaco. They will not be easy games for the Blaugrana, who face the finalist of the Champions League this season, the champion of the Europa League or the always powerful Bayern, which is the great 'black beast' of the Barcelona fans in recent years.

It should be noted that the duel against the Munich team will be in Montjuïc, against the Borussers it will be at the Signal Iduna Park, against Atalanta also at home, against Benfica at home, against Young at home, against Red Star in Serbia, against Brest in Barcelona and finally against the Monegasques in the Principality. This is not bad news, since of the 3 most difficult a priori games, against Bayern, Dortmund and the Italians from Bergamo, two of them will be at home.

Barça's eight rivals in the league phase

• Bayern Munich (home)
• Borussia Dortmund (away)
• Atalanta (home)
• Benfica (away)
• Young Boys (home)
• Crvena Zvezda (away)
• Brest (home)
• Monaco (away)

Champions League dates

The first matches of this first phase will be played on September 17, 18 and 19, while the following days will be on October 1 and 2; October 22 and 23; November 5 and 6; November 26 and 27; December 10 and 11; on January 21 and 22 and, finally, on January 29. Once this league is over, the playoffs will arrive, which will be played in two games on February 11 and 12 and on February 18 and 19 of the same month. From there, the usual format returns, with the round of 16 on May 4 and 5, and March 11 and 12; the fourth on April 8 and 9 and the 15 and 16 of the same month; with the semifinals on April 29 and 30 and May 6 and 7; and finally the grand final at the Allianz in Munich, which will be on May 31, 2025.