Manchester City have been drawn at home to Inter Milan and away to Paris Saint-Germain as part of the new-look league phase to the Champions League that UEFA hopes will provide a more exciting first stage of the competition.
At the draw in Monte Carlo, the revamped 36-team competition threw up a showdown between City and Inter, the side they beat to finally lift the trophy in 2023. The new format sees all 36 teams forming a single league, with each entrant playing four home games and four away.
The top eight will go straight into the last 16 while a round of play-offs will decide the other eight teams.
City were the first team pulled out by former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Cristiano Ronaldo was the man then tasked with pushing a large button on the desk in front of him to allocate eight computer-generated opponents.
Juventus, Club Brugge, Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava are their other six opponents.
Liverpool were the next British team pulled out and landed a home fixture against holders Real Madrid. Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Lille, PSV Eindhoven, Bologna and Girona made up their schedule.
Meanwhile, Arsenal were drawn out of pot two already knowing they would face PSG, Atalanta and Inter Milan. The rest of their opponents came out as Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco and Girona.
Aston Villa – former European champions having lifted the European Cup in 1982 – have been given a mouth-watering home encounter with Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery’s side will also host Juventus as they return to the Champions League, ending a run of 41 years without playing in European football’s premier competition, as well as hosting Scottish champions Celtic. Their other five fixtures will be against Leizpig, Club Brugge, Young Boys, Bologna and Monaco.
As well as Villa, Celtic – residing in Pot Three – will face last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Club Brugge, Atalanta, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb and Slovan Bratislava.
How the new format will work
For the new season, the Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 teams, a transformation from the traditional group stage to a single league phase including all participating teams.
Each team has been drawn against two different teams from each pot, playing one team at home and one away. Teams will play eight matches against eight different teams.
Every club will now be guaranteed a minimum of eight league-stage games against eight different opponents (four home games, four away) rather than the previous six matches against three teams, played on a home-and-away basis.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stages, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated from all competitions.
Will the new format lead to more early excitement?
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“It’s really easy, when it comes to modern football, to be a bit cynical and jaded, but I have to say that is the best draw I’ve ever seen.
“It’s probably the first draw I’ve ever seen that I’ve enjoyed. It was actually entertaining.
“It had Cristiano Ronaldo, who’d flown in from Saudi Arabia, Gianluigui Buffon, two brilliant presenters. It had a brilliant film, which had incredible acting by some of the most famous footballers in the world; Rodri was in it and Zlatan stole the show in explaining how the tournament has changed.
“When we got to the actual draw, that was brilliant as well. Gone were all of those balls and glass bowls – we basically had Buffon picking out one team and then Ronaldo – who, I have to say, looked a little bit bored – was the one who was pressing a button and, straightaway, the computer would come up with that team’s eight opponents.
“It was really slick, it was really entertaining, fast-paced and also, it has thrown up some incredible games.
“For instance, a couple of years ago, the final was Inter Milan vs Man City – this time around, that is just a league phase game. Also Barcelona vs Bayern, PSG vs Man City, Real Madrid vs Liverpool, PSG vs Arsenal, Bayern vs PSG. These could all be finals.
“I, for one, am totally won over. I think this is going to be a brilliant new format.”
Champions League draw in full
Manchester City
Inter Milan
Bayern Munich
RB Leipzig
Borussia Dortmund
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Liverpool
PSG
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Club Brugge
Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal
Benfica
AC Milan
Juventus
Shakhtar Donetsk
Young Boys
Lille
PSV
Feyenoord
Dinamo Zagreb
Red Star Belgrade
Salzburg
Celtic
Sporting CP
Stuttgart
Girona
Bologna
Brest
Aston Villa
Sparta Prague
Slovan Bratislava
Monaco
Sturm Graz
Why was the draw being done by a computer?
The new draw system took around 35 minutes – the same duration as the manual draws for the previous 32-team format with a group phase and knockout stage.
Without the bespoke software, an old-fashioned manual draw for the expanded competition would have taken four hours and require up to 1,000 balls and 36 glass bowls.
When will fans know the fixture dates?
The finalised fixture list will be released on Saturday August 31.
When are the 2024/25 Champions League league-stage matches?
When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stages?
Where is the Champions League final being held in 2025?
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.