UEFA hosted the first-ever league phase draw for the 2024-25 Champions League on Thursday, and there in Monaco, Barcelona found out who their first eight matches of the European season could be against.
Hansi Flick’s side will face Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Benfica, Young Boys, Crvena Zvedza, Stade Brestois and Monaco between September and January, which the schedule set to be determined in the coming days.
Bojan Krkic was Barcelona’s representative in Monaco, and he delivered his verdict of the draw (via MD).
“We were very expectant of how the draw would go, which is something new and we all have to adapt to this new format. We, for our part, are happy. We want to restore the enthusiasm to the fans and show that Barcelona is a rival that the teams that face us will not be happy to play against.”
It remains to be seen how Barcelona get on in this season’s Champions League. There’s no doubt that they need to right the wrongs of the European campaigns of recent years.
mohammedabdulhamidku
59
Barcelona will surprise a lot of people in this new format champion league (we are Barca we fear nobody)
roebkortu
18
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭 explained: ✅36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲). ✅ The teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲). ✅They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away (like the 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲) ✅Teams will instead face fixtures against 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀. ✅Half of the matches (4 matches) will be played at home and the other half (4 matches) will be played away. 🔹𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 ✅The results of each match will decide the overall ranking in the new league ✅The top eight sides in the league will qualify 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 for the round of 16. ✅Teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a 𝘁𝘄𝗼-𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗱 knock-out phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16. ✅Teams that finish 25th or lower in the overall ranking will be eliminated, with 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 to the UEFA Europa League. ✅From the round of 16 onwards, the competition will continue to follow its existing format of knockout rounds (𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆)