Who’s Still Standing in the Champions League and Which Teams Will Face Off in the Quarter-Finals?

Champions League Draws

The draw for the league stage of the Champions League occurred on August 28th in Monaco. The 36 qualified clubs were organised into four pots of nine, determined by their UEFA club coefficient, with the defending champions, PSG, guaranteed the top spot in Pot 1.

Following this, the teams were manually drawn, while an automated system randomly selected each team’s eight opponents, establishing their home and away matches.

Each club was assigned two opponents from each of the four pots—one for a home match and one for an away fixture. Teams were restricted from drawing other teams from their own association and could face a maximum of two teams from the same federation.

The knockout play-off draw took place on January 30th, featuring teams that finished from ninth to 24th in the league phase.

The final draw, which determined the Round of 16 and subsequent matches, occurred on February 27th. This involved the top eight teams from the league phase, as well as the eight winners from the knockout play-offs.

The draw was broadcast live on UEFA.com and through the official UEFA Champions League app. There will be no further draws this season, as the bracket is complete.

The Six Teams Remaining in the Competition (in seeding order):

1. Arsenal (ENG), 2. Bayern Munich (GER), 3. Sporting CP (POR), 4. Real Madrid (ESP), 5. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), 6. Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Knockout Play-off Round Results:

Real Madrid (3) 3-1 Benfica (24)

Inter Milan (10) 2-5 Bodo/Glimt (23)

PSG (11) 5-4 AS Monaco (21)

Newcastle (12) 9-3 Qarabag (22)

Juventus (13) 5-7 Galatasaray (20)

Atletico Madrid (14) 7-4 Club Brugge (19)

Atalanta (15) 4-3 Borussia Dortmund (17)

Bayer Leverkusen (16) 2-0 Olympiacos (18)

Round of 16 Results:

PSG (11) 8-2 Chelsea (6)

Galatasaray (20) 4-1 Liverpool (3)

Real Madrid (9) 5-1 Manchester City (8)

Atalanta (15) 2-10 Bayern Munich (2)

Newcastle (12) 3-8 Barcelona (5)

Atletico Madrid (14) 7-5 Tottenham Hotspur (4)

Bodo/Glimt (23) 3-5 Sporting CP (7)

Bayer Leverkusen (16) 1-3 Arsenal (1)

Quarter-Final Fixtures:

Quarter-final 1: PSG 4-0 Liverpool

Quarter-final 2: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich

Quarter-final 3: Barcelona 2-3 Atletico Madrid

Quarter-final 4: Sporting vs Arsenal

Semi-Final Fixtures:

Semi-final 1: PSG vs winner of quarter-final 2

Semi-final 2: Atletico Madrid vs winner of quarter-final 4

Key Upcoming Dates for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League

League Phase First Matchday: September 16th-18th, 2025

League Phase Last Matchday: January 28th, 2026

Draw for Knockout Play-offs: January 30th

Knockout Play-offs: February 17th and 18th (first legs), February 24th and 25th (second legs)

Final Draw (for Round of 16 and beyond): February 27th, 2026

Round of 16: March 10th and 11th (first legs), March 17th and 18th (second legs)

Quarter-finals: April 7th and 8th (first legs), April 14th and 15th (second legs)

Semi-finals: April 28th and 29th (first legs), May 5th and 6th (second legs)

Final: May 30th

When & Where is the 2025/26 Champions League Final?

The final of the Champions League will be held on May 30th, 2026, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. This stadium, which seats 67,215 spectators, will host the final for the first time.

UEFA Champions League Format Explained

This season saw a significant overhaul of UEFA’s premier tournament, replacing the previous 32-team group stage format with a 36-team league phase.

As in the last season, all 36 teams will compete in eight matches. The top eight at the end of the league phase will directly qualify for the Round of 16, while the bottom eight will be eliminated without the option to drop to the Europa League.

The clubs finishing between ninth and 24th will compete in the knockout play-off round to determine the additional eight teams advancing to the Round of 16. The final draw for the knockout stages is held post the play-off round.

In the Round of 16, the top eight (seeded) teams will be matched against the remaining (unseeded) teams, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final, adhering to the conventional cup competition format.