Two-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was handed meetings with Barcelona, Manchester City and Aston Villa among its eight matches in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, as the draw took place on Thursday.
PSG, which beat Arsenal on penalties in May to retain the trophy, will play Barcelona, Roma, Turkish champions Galatasaray and Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia at home.
Luis Enrique’s team will travel to England twice to face City and Villa. It beat both teams on the way to winning its first Champions League title in 2025. The French champion will also go to Spain to play Villarreal and Italy to take on a Como side coached by Cesc Fabregas.
The first matches in this season’s league phase will be played between Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10, with the final games in late January. UEFA is expected to announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday.
Last season’s runner-up Arsenal, the Premier League champion, will notably host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lille as well as Sabah, the club from Azerbaijan who came through four two-legged qualifying ties to reach the league phase for the first time.
The Gunners have a tough list of away ties against Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool will be at home to Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, while playing Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Austrian league phase debutants LASK away.
Manchester United, which was not in the first pot of seeds, has home games against Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah and also a series of difficult away fixtures against Atletico, Sporting of Portugal, Villarreal and Como.
Other notable games include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid entertaining Inter, while last season’s Europa League winner Villa must go to Barcelona and play Dortmund at home, while also tackling Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
The latter is appearing in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2008-09 after beating Lyon in the play-offs this week.
This is the third season since the introduction of the new format for the Champions League, with 36 teams now all pooled together in one giant league and each playing games against eight different opponents.
This season’s final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.
(With inputs from AFP)
Published on Aug 27, 2026
