PSG's Title Defense Starts Heavy
The French champion's draw reads like a knockout bracket. Along with hosting City and visiting Barcelona, PSG again faces Aston Villa, fresh off beating them in this month's Super Cup, and travels to newcomer Como, coached by Cesc Fabregas.
History favors Paris in the marquee fixture. PSG has won three straight visits to Barcelona, including a 2-1 league phase win last October, since the infamous 6-1 "Remontada" collapse of March 2017.
Madrid, Arsenal and a Mourinho Homecoming
Real Madrid will host Inter Milan and make two trips to London: one to Arsenal, and one to face Shakhtar Donetsk, with Ukraine's champion playing its home games at Stamford Bridge. That sets up a storyline nobody could have scripted: returning Madrid coach José Mourinho walking back into the stadium where Chelsea fans adored him through two title-winning spells.
Arsenal, last season's beaten finalist, hosts Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Sabah, and travels to Bayern Munich.
Barcelona welcomes two English clubs, Man City and Europa League winner Villa, plus Fabregas's Como, and faces the competition's longest haul: a trip to Baku to play debutant Sabah.
The Arctic Circle Problem
Bayern drew a second English opponent with a trip to Manchester United, both Norwegian sides, hosting Bodø/Glimt and visiting Viking, and a visit to Atletico Madrid, whose Metropolitano Stadium hosts the final next May.
Atletico, Dortmund, Lille and newcomer LASK all must travel inside the Arctic Circle to play on Bodø/Glimt's artificial turf in the remote fishing town, and one unlucky team makes the trip in January.
Liverpool landed one of the friendlier slates: trips to Inter Milan and Fenerbahce, plus an Anfield rematch with Atletico, whom they beat 3-2 there last September.
Four Debutants and Two Great Stories
Como, LASK, Viking and Sabah all debut this season, and the newcomers bring the draw's best narratives.
Sabah, the Azerbaijani champion founded only in 2017, will host Dortmund, Napoli and Slavia Prague. Coach Valdas Dambrauskas has soccer's strangest origin story: money he won as a young contestant on Lithuania's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" funded his trip to study coaching in England.
And a first for the competition: Yaya Touré, the former Manchester City and Barcelona star, becomes the first African coach to take a team into the main phase after guiding Slovan Bratislava through Wednesday's qualifying playoff. Slovan visits PSG and hosts Inter Milan.
Como, meanwhile, welcomes PSG and Manchester United to its picture-postcard lakeside stadium, with a second Spanish trip to Real Betis alongside Barcelona.
How the Format Works
UEFA's draw software gave each team eight opponents, four home and four away, with two from each seeding pot based on five years of European results. No team faces a club from its own country.
The first six rounds run through December, with the final league phase round on January 27. The top eight in the standings advance directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams placed ninth through 24th enter February's knockout playoffs for the remaining eight spots, and 25th through 36th are eliminated.
What Comes Next
Two weeks until the whole machine starts turning. The early fixtures to circle: PSG's trip to Barcelona, Madrid at the Emirates, and Mourinho's Stamford Bridge return. By January 27, the math gets ruthless, and someone's Champions League will already be over.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who did PSG draw in the Champions League league phase?
- The two-time defending champion hosts Manchester City and Aston Villa among others, and travels to Barcelona and newcomer Como.
- When does the Champions League start?
- The first round runs September 8-10, with six rounds through December and the final league phase round on January 27.
- Who are the four debutants?
- Como of Italy, LASK of Austria, Viking of Norway and Azerbaijan's Sabah, founded only in 2017.
- What is historic about Slovan Bratislava's qualification?
- Coach Yaya Touré becomes the first African coach to lead a team into the Champions League main phase.
- How does the format work?
- Each of the 36 teams plays eight games. The top eight advance directly to the round of 16, ninth through 24th enter playoffs, and the rest are eliminated. The final is at Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano in May.
