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Real Madrid face Liverpool and host Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of last season’s final in the league stage of the new-look Champions League, the draw for which took place on Thursday. The new format for Europe’s elite club competition will see each team play eight games against eight different opponents, with all 36 clubs now together in one league rather than being split into groups. Madrid, who have signed France superstar klian mbappe Their biggest triumph since winning the European Cup for a record 15th time, they will also play AC Milan at home and take on Atalanta.
Real beat last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw earlier this month.
Liverpool, back in the Champions League after a season away, will also face Milan and tournament debutants Girona.
However, supporters of the Anfield club will perhaps be most excited by the prospect of hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are coached by the former Liverpool midfielder. Xabi Alonso,
The winner of the competition in 2023, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, will play at home against Italian champions Inter Milan and take on both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus away.
However, they also have more comfortable opponents such as Club Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava, who have never played in the modern Champions League.
Other key fixtures will see Bayern Munich take on both PSG and Barcelona, and Arsenal take on Inter and Paris.
The number of clubs in the Champions League has increased from 32 to 36 participants divided into four seeded pots of nine each for the draw.
Each team will face two teams from the four pots, one at home and one away. The first matches will be played on September 17, 18 and 19.
The new league stage will feature two additional match days in January, at the end of which the top eight clubs in the 36-team classification will advance directly to the last 16.
Teams placed between ninth and 24th will play a play-off round, from which the remaining eight teams will emerge to reach the last 16.
The bottom 12 teams in the league stage will be eliminated altogether, and as in the past, no club will be able to enter the Europa League.
The Europa League and third-tier Conference League, whose draws will be made on Friday, will also now have 36 clubs participating, although the final competition will have just six matchdays in the league stage.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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