The road to the Allianz Arena on 31 May 2025 officially began on Thursday with the draw for the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League group stage. The new group stage of the competition has been officially set, with each of the 36 teams that make up the tournament knowing the 8 rivals they will have to face between September and January to secure a place in the round of 16 of the continental championship.

The demands and competitiveness will be maximum in this edition to find out Real Madrid's successor on the throne. Carlo Ancelotti's team beat Borussia Dortmund at Wembley to complete the League-Champions double and this season, as always, they are once again candidates to lift the 'Orejona' for the sixteenth time. However, they will not be the only ones in the race for the long-awaited title. There are several teams that want to make a statement and will seek to be in the final in Munich in May.

Tough competition for the Spanish

The four Spanish teams will have to face several 'trials of fire' in their search for success in the competition. FC Barcelona hopes, with the help of Hansi Flick, to be able to surpass the quarter-final barrier, which they have not surpassed since 2020. To do so, they must beat Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Young Boys and Stade Brest at the start of their adventure in Montjuïc and Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Red Star and Monaco in their respective fiefdoms.

For their part, Real Madrid will seek to defend their title and the path to that appears to be 'friendly'. The Merengues will face Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, RB Salzburg and Stuttgart at home and Liverpool, Atalanta, Lille and Brest as visitors. Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid will host Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Slovan Bratislava and will travel from Spain to face PSG, Benfica, Salzburg and Sparta Prague.

Finally, Girona has not been as lucky as its three compatriots and will have to host Liverpool, Arsenal, Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava at Montilivi, visiting the stadiums of PSG, Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Sturm Graz in its debut in the top competition at club level. Below, we review all the groups of the 2023-2024 Champions League:

FC Barcelona's group

  • Bayern Munich (home)
  • Atalanta (home)
  • Young Boys (home)
  • Stade Brest (Home)
  • Borussia Dortmund (Of visitor)
  • Benfica (Of visitor)
  • Crash Red (of visitor)
  • Monaco (of visitor)

Real Madrid's group

  • Borussia Dortmund (Home)
  • AC Milan (home)
  • RB Salzburgo (Home)
  • Stuttgart (home)
  • Liverpool (Of visitor)
  • Atalanta (of visitor)
  • Lille (Of visitor)
  • Brest (Of visitor)

Manchester City's group

  • Inter Of Milan (home)
  • Feyenoord (Home)
  • Witches (home)
  • Sparta Prague (home)
  • Paris Saint-Germain (of visitor)
  • Juventus (Of visitor)
  • Sporting CP (Of visitor)
  • Slovan Bratislava (Of visitor)

Bayern Munich's group

  • Paris Saint-Germain (home)
  • Benfica (Home)
  • Dinamo Zagreb (Home)
  • Slovan Bratislava (Home)
  • FC Barcelona (of visitor)
  • Shakhtar (of visitor)
  • Feyenoord (Of visitor)
  • Aston Villa (of visitor)

Paris Saint-Germain's group

  • Manchester City (home)
  • Athletic of Madrid (home)
  • PSV Eindhoven (Home)
  • Girona (home)
  • Bayern Munich (of visitor)
  • RB Salzburgo (Of visitor)
  • Arsenal (of visitor)
  • Stuttgart (of visitor)

Borussia Dortmund's group

  • FC Barcelona (home)
  • Shakhtar (home)
  • Celtic (Home)
  • Sturm Graz (Home)
  • Real Madrid (of visitor)
  • Witches (of visitor)
  • Dinamo Zagreb (Of visitor)
  • Bolonia (Of visitor)

Liverpool's group

  • Real Madrid (home)
  • Bayer Leverkusen (Home)
  • Lille (Home)
  • Bolonia (Home)
  • RB Leipzig (Of visitor)
  • AC Milan (of visitor)
  • PSV Eindhoven (Of visitor)
  • Girona (of visitor)

Inter of Milan's group

  • RB Leipzig (Home)
  • Arsenal (home)
  • Crash Red (home)
  • Monaco (home)
  • Manchester City (of visitor)
  • Bayer Leverkusen (Of visitor)
  • Young Boys (of visitor)
  • Sparta Prague (of visitor)

Leipzig's group

  • Liverpool (Home)
  • Juventus (Home)
  • Sporting CP (Home)
  • Aston Villa (home)
  • Inter Of Milan (of visitor)
  • Athletic of Madrid (of visitor)
  • Celtic (Of visitor)
  • Sturm Graz (Of visitor)

Champions League dates

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