The Champions League 2024-2025 will start on Tuesday September 17thmarking the beginning of a special edition with a new formatUEFA has implemented a league phase that replaces the traditional group stage, inspired by the proposal of the Super League.
This year, 36 teams will compete in the league, including the real Madridreigning champions after winning their fifteenth European Cup at Wembley in June 2024. They will also represent Spain on Barcelonahe Atletico Madrid and the Girona.
The new format of the Champions League
In this edition, each team will play eight matches: four at home and four away. The teams will face opponents selected from the four pots into which UEFA has divided the clubs according to their coefficients.
The first eight classifieds will have direct access to the Round of 16while those who occupy the positions 9th to 24th They will have to play a preliminary round, similar to a round of 32Teams ranked below 24th place will be eliminated without any chance of qualifying for the Europa League.
One of the big news is that the competition will also be played on Thursdaya day that until now was reserved for the Europa League.
Participating teams
Among the 36 teams that will compete in the Champions League 2024-2025highlight:
- Real Madrid (ESP)
- Manchester City (ENG)
- Bayern Munich (GER)
- Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
- Liverpool (ENG)
- Inter (ITA)
- Dortmund (GER)
- Leipzig (GER)
- Barcelona (ESP)
- Leverkusen (GER)
- Atletico Madrid (ESP)
- Atalanta (ITA)
- Juventus (ITA)
- Benfica (POR)
- Arsenal (ENG)
- Bruges (BEL)
- Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
- AC Milan (ITA)
- Feyenoord (NED)
- Sporting CP (POR)
- PSV Eindhoven (NED)
- Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
- Salzburg (AUT)
- Lille (FRA)
- Red Star (SRB)
- Young Boys (SUI)
- Celtic (SCO)
- Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
- Monaco (FRA)
- Sparta Prague (CZE)
- Aston Villa (ENG)
- Bologna (ITA)
- Girona (ESP)
- Stuttgart (GER)
- Storm Graz (AUT)
- Brest (FRA)
Key dates and schedule: Matchday 1 matches
The first day of the Champions League 2024-2025 will be played between 17 and 19 September, and here are all the scheduled matches:
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven – 18:45 hours
- Young Boys vs Aston Villa – 18:45 hours
- real Madrid vs Stuttgart – 9:00 p.m.
- Bayern Munich vs Dynamo Zagreb – 9:00 p.m.
- AC Milan vs Liverpool – 9:00 p.m.
- Sporting CP vs Lille – 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
- Sparta Prague vs Salzburg – 18:45 hours
- Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk – 18:45 hours
- Witches vs Borussia Dortmund – 9:00 p.m.
- Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava – 9:00 p.m.
- Manchester City vs Inter Milan – 9:00 p.m.
- Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Girona – 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 19, 2024
- Red Star vs Benfica – 18:45 hours
- Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen – 18:45 hours
- Atalanta vs Arsenal – 9:00 p.m.
- Atletico Madrid vs RB Leipzig – 9:00 p.m.
- Monaco vs Barcelona – 9:00 p.m.
- Brest vs Storm Graz – 9:00 p.m.
2024/2025 Champions League knockout stages
The preliminary round will be played between the February 11 and 19, 2025while the Round of 16 will begin the March 4th. The great Champions League final is scheduled for the May 31, 2025 in it Allianz Arena from Munich.
This new format promises an exciting competition, with a more competitive approach from the first day.