Real Madrid UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw: The league draw for the 2024-25 season of the UEFA Champions League took place yesterday, and we now know who each team will face in the new ‘League Phase’. Today, we will look at all the matches defending champions Real Madrid will have in this round.
From this year on, the UCL has adopted a new formula for the league stage. The first change is that now there are 36 teams in the competition, four more than there were last season. Also, teams will not be divided into eight groups of four each, with each side facing one another twice. Now, all the teams will be in one huge table.
Before the draw, all teams were divided into four pots according to their UEFA coefficient, basically their UEFA ranking. Each team will face eight teams in the league phase. Facing eight different teams, four of those matches will be at home, while four will be away. Out of the eight teams, there will be two teams from each pot, ensuring that each team faces competition of all qualities.
The top eight finishing teams will automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the teams finishing 9th to 24th will go into a special playoff, needing to win that game to make it to the pre-quarterfinal. The bottom 12 finishing teams will be eliminated from the tournament and will not go into the Europa League or the conference league.
While all the matches have been announced so far, and so have the eight Matchday dates, the actual date on which any match will be played will be announced on August 31st, so we don’t know which game will be played on what Matchday.
Having said that, here are the eight matches Real Madrid will play in the League Phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid UCL 2024/25 League Phase Draw
Real Madrid UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw
1) Borussia Dortmund (Home)
In a rematch of last season’s UCL final, Los Blancos will take on Borussia Dortmund in a home game. Dortmund finished fifth in the Bundesliga last season, but due to the league’s high coefficient rating, they got the extra Champions League spot. After Marco Reus left BVB, it remains to be seen whether the German side can reverse the result of last season’s final. Dortmund was in Pot One of the draw
2) Liverpool (Away)
Yet another spicy matchup and yet another former UCL final rematch. The two teams faced off in the final of the 2017/18 UCL final, where it was the Madridistas that won 3-1. Liverpool finished third in the Premier League last season, some ways behind the top two sides. With a new manager and no new signings in the transfer window, how likely is it that The Reds will be able to hang with a Real side that has grown stronger by signing Kylian Mbappe? Liverpool was in Pot One of the draw.
3) AC Milan (Home)
A match between Champions League royalty, while Real Madrid is the team with the most UCL titles with 15, AC Milan has won the second-most with seven. Despite finishing second in Serie A last season, the Milan-based club was 19 points behind their inner-city rivals. AC Milan was in Pot Two of the draw.
Check Out: Real Madrid UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw
4) Atalanta (Away)
Over the last few seasons, Atalanta has emerged as a new powerhouse in Serie A. Regularly finishing in the top-four in the league, they finished fourth last season. But it was their Europa League triumph that booked them a place in the Champion League. An away game to the Gewiss Stadium is always tricky, something they have proven on the European stage before. Atalanta was in Pot Two of the draw.
5) Red Bull Salzburg (Home)
Europe’s talent factory has been a regular customer of the Champions League, qualifying almost every year due to their dominance in the Austrian Bundesliga. Having finished second in the championship playoff last season, Salzburg had to defeat Twente and Dynamo Kyiv in the qualifying round to even make it to the UCL. Red Bull Salzburg was in Pot three of the draw.
6) Lille (Away)
Lille is only one of three clubs to have won Ligue 1 in the last 10 seasons besides Monaco (2016-17) and PSG (the rest), winning in the 2020-21 season. Since then, they have been a UCL regular. Last season they finished fourth in Ligue 1 and had to make it through the UCL qualifying rounds, defeating Fenerbahce and Slavia Praha to make their way to the Champions League. Lille was in Pot three of the draw.
7) VfB Stuttgart (Home)
While Bayer Leverkusen was the success story of last season in the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart’s achievements might just have been more impressive, as they pipped Bayern Munich to finish second in the league. In Pot Four of the draw, the matchup against Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu might just be the biggest game in the club’s recent history.
8) Stade Brestois, a.k.a. Brest (Away)
Brest is one of the smallest clubs in the competition, with one of the lowest squad values. Despite that, they finished third in Ligue 1 last season for an automatic Champions League qualification. Hosting Real Madrid, while not the best match for their UCL aspirations, will be a big day for the club and its fans. Brest was in Pot Four of the draw.
These are all the games Real Madrid will play in the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 in order to defend their title of being the European Champions and winning the trophy for an unprecedented 16th time.
Check Out: Real Madrid UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw
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