French former football player Thierry Henry shows the paper slip of Real Madrid CF (ESP) during the draw ceremony for the league phase of the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League football tournament at the Grimaldi Forum in the Principality of Monaco on August 27, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid learned their opponents for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase on Thursday, as UEFA held this season's draw in Geneva. Under the competition's Swiss-style format, now in its third year, Real Madrid will play eight league-phase matches, four at home and four away, against sides drawn from four seeding pots rather than the old group of four.
This year's draw pairs Real Madrid with Inter Milan and ******* nal from Pot One, PSV Eindhoven and Roma from Pot Two, Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk from Pot Three, and LASK and AEK Athens from Pot Four. It is a mix of old rivals and near strangers, given that ******* nal beat Real Madrid out of the quarter-finals only two years ago, Roma once knocked them out under coach José Mourinho's old adversaries, and LASK have never faced them at all.
Real Madrid go into the campaign looking to bounce back from a run of three quarter-final exits in four seasons, sandwiched around their 15th European Cup in 2023/24. The league phase runs from September through January, with matchday dates and kick-off times still to be confirmed by UEFA, before the knockout rounds begin in February and build toward the final at Madrid's own Estadio Metropolitano next June.
Pot one of the draw brings the heaviest company, Inter Milan at home and ******* nal away. Real Madrid's record against Inter is one of the most one-sided in the competition, eight wins from nine home meetings and four straight victories in their recent run. ******* nal is a different proposition. The two clubs have met just twice, back in 2005/06, before colliding again in the 2024-25 quarter-finals, when ******* nal won 5-1 on aggregate and hold the head-to-head edge from all three meetings.
#madrid #league #arsenal
Real Madrid learned their opponents for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase on Thursday, as UEFA held this season's draw in Geneva. Under the competition's Swiss-style format, now in its third year, Real Madrid will play eight league-phase matches, four at home and four away, against sides drawn from four seeding pots rather than the old group of four.
This year's draw pairs Real Madrid with Inter Milan and ******* nal from Pot One, PSV Eindhoven and Roma from Pot Two, Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk from Pot Three, and LASK and AEK Athens from Pot Four. It is a mix of old rivals and near strangers, given that ******* nal beat Real Madrid out of the quarter-finals only two years ago, Roma once knocked them out under coach José Mourinho's old adversaries, and LASK have never faced them at all.
Real Madrid go into the campaign looking to bounce back from a run of three quarter-final exits in four seasons, sandwiched around their 15th European Cup in 2023/24. The league phase runs from September through January, with matchday dates and kick-off times still to be confirmed by UEFA, before the knockout rounds begin in February and build toward the final at Madrid's own Estadio Metropolitano next June.
Pot one of the draw brings the heaviest company, Inter Milan at home and ******* nal away. Real Madrid's record against Inter is one of the most one-sided in the competition, eight wins from nine home meetings and four straight victories in their recent run. ******* nal is a different proposition. The two clubs have met just twice, back in 2005/06, before colliding again in the 2024-25 quarter-finals, when ******* nal won 5-1 on aggregate and hold the head-to-head edge from all three meetings.
#madrid #league #arsenal
2 months ago
