Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were handed meetings with Barcelona, Manchester City and Aston Villa among their eight matches in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, as the draw took place on Thursday. PSG, who 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. The French champions will also go to Spain to play Villarreal and Italy to take on a Como side coached by Cesc Fabregas.
They beat both teams on the way to winning their first Champions League title in 2025.
UEFA is expected to announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday. Last season’s runners-up Arsenal, the Premier League champions, 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. 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. Other notable games include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid entertaining Inter, while last season’s Europa League winners Villa must go to Barcelona and play Dortmund at home, while also tackling Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
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. The latter are appearing in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2008/09 after beating Lyon in the play-offs this week.
