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Champions League 2025/2026 draw live | Inter vs. Liverpool and Arsenal, Juve vs. Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, Napoli vs. Chelsea and City, and Atalanta vs. PSG

Thursday, August 28


Alternative Takes

Focused on Spanish Teams

Focused on PSG

Excitement/Drama Emphasis


Inter, Juventus, Napoli and Atalanta are the teams involved in the Champions League draw in Monte Carlo.

Champions League 2025/2026, i sorteggi in diretta | Alle 18 le avversarie delle italiane nella League Phase
  • The 2025-2026 Champions League League Phase draw features Italian teams Inter, Juventus, Atalanta, and Napoli among the protagonists. The 36-team group format has been confirmed, with the top eight qualifying directly for the round of 16 and ninth to 24th place going on to the playoffs. The teams ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competitions.
  • The first matchday of the League Phase will be played from 16th to 18th September, the last on 28th January.
  • The INTER fixtures: Liverpool at home, Borussia away, Arsenal at home, Atletico Madrid away, Slavia at home, Ajax away, Kairat at home, Union Saint Gilloise away
  • The ATALANTA fixtures: Chelsea at home, PSG away, Brugge at home, Frankfurt away, Slavia Prague at home, Marseille away, Bilbao at home and Union Saint Gilloise away away
  • The JUVENTUS fixtures: Borussia Dortmund at home, Real Madrid away, Benfica at home, Villarreal away, Sporting Lisbon at home, Bodo away, Pafos at home and Monaco away
  • The NAPOLI fixtures: Chelsea at home, Manchester City away, Frankfurt at home, Benfica away, Sporting Lisbon at home, PSV away, Qarabag at home and Copenhagen away

19:52 | August 28

Comolli (Juventus): Vlahovic remains 99% certain, agreement reached with Nottingham Forest for the transfer of Savona

We reached an agreement with Nottingham Forest for Savona this afternoon. Juventus general manager Damien Comolli announced it to Sky on the sidelines of the Champions League draw. There's no friction between us and Dusan; the situation is very clear. He's part of the team and will stay 99% of the time for the entire season. There have been many discussions with other teams, but nothing concrete. I think he also wants to stay. It's excellent news because he's a good player. Then, an update on Kolo Muani: I'm not comfortable talking about players from other clubs because I think it's disrespectful. And then there are still so many things that can happen. I can't be more specific. We'll do everything we can to improve the team. We're working tirelessly, and we'll do so until Monday and see what we get. We're fortunate to have ownership that guarantees us great support. We have financial fair play restrictions until 2027, which puts us in a difficult position, and we have to be very cautious.

7:40 PM | August 28

Inter have the toughest path, fascinating challenges for Napoli

(Paolo Tomaselli, correspondent in Monte Carlo) It's a tougher ride for Inter, who face Liverpool and the two strongest teams in the second tier, Arsenal and Atletico.

Fascinating but more easy going for Napoli, Atalanta and especially Juve, who face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu but find Benfica and Villarreal in the second tier. Like Inter, Juve also draw Dortmund in the first tier: it could have been worse. The mission for the top 8 is also within Napoli's reach, who face two English giants in Chelsea and City, but then face all within reach opponents.

Atalanta scores a prestigious double, hosting Conference and World Cup winners Chelsea and travelling to defending champions PSG, who will have revenge against Club Brugge, as well as Marseille and Bilbao. A useful schedule to try again to qualify for the playoffs, a minimum objective for all Italian teams, keeping in mind last year's lesson with PSG, who almost missed out on the top 24 and then managed a triumphant march to the final, defeating Inter.

Luis Enrique's team is the classic exception that proves the rule, but managing energy and Champions League and league standings is an art that Inter must hone and that Napoli is experiencing for the first time. In this respect, pitfalls can lurk everywhere, even on long away trips: Juve will travel to Bodo above the Arctic Circle, but otherwise, the seven-hour journey to Kazakhstan or four to Baku is averted for all Italian teams.

7:38 PM | August 28

Marotta (Inter): Chivu won this tournament, this new Champions League format is difficult

Since 2018-19, we've been the team that has best represented Italy, and this is a source of pride. Like every year, we want to do well. Chivu is coaching for the first time in the Champions League, but he's won this competition and therefore knows how to deal with opponents. This new format is difficult; on paper, there may be easy opponents. You always have to be perfect, both physically and mentally. This was Inter president Beppe Marotta's statement to Sky Sport after the Champions League draw. A player in the final days of the transfer window? We won't let these factors influence us: we've managed our transfer market, with a different model than in the recent past. We've invested in five young players, four of whom we bought and one who proudly comes from our youth academy, Pio Esposito. Their average age is 21.5. This is in line with the owners' guidelines, he added. We have a rookie coach, but he has great experience. The squad we have available so far is in line with our ambitions. Liverpool and Arsenal at San Siro? As a football fan, I'm happy. The standard is very high, but I'm confident. Playing at home, we'll have the support of our wonderful fans," he concluded.

7:20 PM | August 28

The calendar of the third tier teams

Champions League 2025/2026, i sorteggi in diretta | Inter contro Liverpool e Arsenal, Juve con Real e Borussia, Napoli contro Chelsea e City e l'Atalanta trova il Psg

7:12 PM | August 28

The schedule of the second-tier teams

Champions League 2025/2026, i sorteggi in diretta | Inter contro Liverpool e Arsenal, Juve con Real e Borussia, Napoli contro Chelsea e City e l'Atalanta trova il Psg

7:09 PM|

The calendar of the top-tier teams

Champions League 2025/2026, i sorteggi in diretta | Inter contro Liverpool e Arsenal, Juve con Real e Borussia, Napoli contro Chelsea e City e l'Atalanta trova il Psg

6:49 PM | August 28

Napoli's calendar

Napoli will face Chelsea at home, Manchester City away, Frankfurt at home, Benfica away, Sporting Lisbon at home, PSV away, Qarabag at home and Copenhagen away.

6:48 PM | August 28

Juventus's schedule

Borussia Dortmund at home, Real Madrid away, Benfica at home, Villarreal away, Sporting Lisbon at home, Bodo away, Pafos at home and Monaco away

6:42 PM | August 28

Atalanta's schedule

Chelsea at home, PSG away, Brugge at home, Frankfurt away, Slavia Prague at home, Marseille away, Bilbao at home and Union SG away

6:40 PM | August 28

Manchester City's fixture list

Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Leverkusen, Villarreal, Napoli, Bodo, Galatasaray and Monaco

6:39 PM | August 28

PSG's European champions' schedule

Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Sporting, Newcastle and Bilbao

6:38 PM | August 28

The seventh team drawn from the first pot is Barcelona

He will play against PSG, Chelsea, Frankfurt, Brugge, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Copenhagen and Newcastle

6:37 PM | August 28

Liverpool's fixture list

Real Madrid, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Frankfurt, PSV, Marseille, Qarabag, Galatasaray

6:36 PM | August 28

Borussia Dortmund is fifth

Borussia Dortmund vs: Inter, City, Arsenal, Villarreal, Juventus, Bodo, Tottenham, Bilbao and Copenhagen

6:34 PM | August 28

Inter is the fourth top-tier team

Inter will play against: Liverpool at home, Borussia Dortmund away, Arsenal at home, Atletico Madrid away, Slavia at home, Ajax away, Kairat at home, Union Saint-Gilloise away

6:33 PM | August 28

Third team Real Madrid

Real Madrid will face: Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus, Benfica, Marseille, Olympiakos, Monaco and Kairat

6:18 PM | August 28

The bands

Champions League 2025/2026, i sorteggi in diretta | Inter contro Liverpool e Arsenal, Juve con Real e Borussia, Napoli contro Chelsea e City e l'Atalanta trova il Psg

6:16 PM | August 28

How does the draw work?

36 participants divided into four groups determined by the coefficient.

​First, the first-tier team's cartridge is manually extracted, and then the automatic software will decide the challengers. The procedure will repeat until all pairings have been drawn.

5:56 PM | August 28

The rules of the single-round draw

Each team will play eight matches: one home match and one away match against two teams from each pot.

​Teams cannot play against clubs from the same association (so Inter, Juventus, Atalanta and Napoli cannot meet in the League Phase). 

Each team cannot face more than two teams from the same association (for example, if an English Premier League team were to be drawn against Juventus and Inter, they would then not play against Napoli and Atalanta).

5:53 PM | August 28

The League Phase schedule will be announced on Saturday, August 30th

The schedule with match dates and times will be published on Saturday, August 30th.

5:52 PM | August 28

The final in Budapest will be played at 6pm

UEFA has officially announced that the Champions League final, to be held in Budapest on May 30, 2026, will be played at 6:00 PM, rather than 9:00 PM as in previous editions. With this change, we are putting the fan experience at the heart of our planning. A 9:00 PM kick-off is ideal for midweek matches, said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

5:49 PM | August 28

With the single round there are also traps for big spenders

(by Paolo Condò) (...) Of the five major national leagues recognized as such, Serie A is the one that hasn't won a Champions League title for the longest time. It's the price we pay for equilibrium: in each of the other countries there is at least one club with almost no spending limits, which makes it competitive in Europe but often turns the domestic tournament into a monologue — we're talking about Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern —. This year, Liverpool has spent 340 million euros, and until the last minute of the transfer window they will try to add another 160 to snatch Isak from Newcastle. Arsenal's deficit in purchases/sales is 280 million. PSG, who have done practically nothing except retire Donnarumma, have spent 116. Bayern have signed only one player, Luis Diaz, but for 75 million; Real Madrid has relaunched with four youngsters, reaching a total of 150. Currently, the most expensive investment of the four Italian clubs is Napoli's €30 million for Beukema and Juventus's €30 million to buy Conceicao. Under these circumstances, Juventus' two finals in the last 10 years and Inter's in the last three seasons have been largely underestimated. (...)



​Read the full article here

5:36 PM | August 28

The Champions League League Phase schedule

Matchday 1 : 16-18 September 2025 (European week dedicated exclusively to the Champions League)

Matchday 2 : 30 September-1 October 2025

Matchday 3 : 21-22 October 2025

Matchday 4 : 4-5 November 2025

Matchday 5 : 25-26 November 2025

Matchday 6 : 9-10 December 2025

Matchday 7 : 20-21 January 2026

Matchday 8 : 28 January 2026

5:35 PM | August 28

The draw bands

In the first round-robin stage, each club will face a total of eight opponents (two per pot ). Here is how the participating teams are divided:

First pot : PSG, INTER, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.

Second pot : ATALANTA, JUVENTUS, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt and Benfica.

Third pot : Napoli, PSV, Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Marseille, Tottenham, Bodo Glimt.

Fourth pot : Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Kairat Almaty, Pafos, Copenhagen, Monaco, Qarabag.

5:33 PM | August 28

The novelty of the top seeds

(by Salvatore Riggio) (...) The main news concerns who will play the second leg of the quarter-finals and semi-finals at home. In fact, those who play the second leg of the quarter-finals and semi-finals at home will no longer be chosen by chance, but the single group ranking will have an even greater weight. 

In essence, the teams that finish in the single ranking from 1st to 4th place will be seeded in the quarter-finals and will play the second leg at home, while those classified in 1st and 2nd place in the single ranking will also play the second leg of the semi-finals at home. If one of the top four is eliminated, the team that eliminated it takes its position in the draw.  (...) 



​Read the full article here

5:32 PM | August 28

Champions League: All the pitfalls for Italian teams

(by Paolo Condò) (...) Inter and Napoli will fight, and a place in the top eight is their goal: we mean the quarter-finals, easier to reach by avoiding the play-offs (last year lethal for three out of three Italian teams). It will depend on the fresh blood of Inter, who last year exhausted all their energy in the legendary semi-final against Barça, thus consigning themselves to the embarrassment in Monaco. It will depend on the desire for revenge of De Bruyne, who left City not by choice but because he was told to, and on how necessary Antonio Conte considers the great European result he is missing. Juventus is still putting the pieces together but has a young leader, Kenan Yildiz, whose European scouts won't miss a single match: the goal is the playoffs, possibly in the top tier, while Atalanta would also be happy with the second tier, as time is on their side, but a complicated start is in the cards. To make the transition from Gasperini to Juric harmless, a good selection from the various urns would help. (...) 

​Read

August 28, 5:32 PM - Updated August 28, 7:52 PM

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