New Champions League Draw revealed as Liverpool set to face stronger opponent that could Eliminate them from the group stage.

Last season preview
In the previous campaign, Real Madrid emerged champions for a record 15th time, their sixth title in eleven years.

Los Blancos also set the record for the most perfect group-stage campaigns, winning all their group-stage matches three times.

Carlo Ancelotti extended his record to five Champions League titles (2003 and 2007 with AC Milan; 2014, 2022, and 2024 with Madrid). He also equalled the record held by Bob Paisley (Liverpool) and Zinedine Zidane ( Madrid) for the most titles won with a single team, having secured three of these victories with Madrid.

The competition also saw a young determined Borussia Dortmund side overcome the odds to upset Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals to reach the final of the competition where they eventually lost to Madrid.

The Premier League clubs had a bit of a mixed campaign, with Manchester United and Newcastle United crashing out of the group stages while Arsenal and Manchester City both crashed out of the quarter-finals to Munich and Madrid respectively.

New Champions League ‘Swiss Model’ format
As previously mentioned, the competition is expanding to 36 teams, but the traditional format of eight groups of four is being replaced by a single league featuring all 36 teams. This doesn’t mean that every team will face off against each other. Instead, the “Swiss Model,” typically used in chess tournaments, will be implemented. Under this system, each club will compete in eight matches — four at home and four away.