UEFA Champions League Starts Today - 36 Teams will Play the First Round Matches
Today marks a historic moment for the UEFA Champions League - the start of the new general stage of the most prestigious club football tournament in Europe under the new rules.
According to the press service of the European Football Union, 36 teams will play the first round matches over the next three days, from 17 to 19 September.
Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk will start the draw on 18 September with an away match against Italian side Bologna.
The top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the play-offs, while the teams ranked ninth to 24th will compete in two-match matches to reach the last 16.
The final will take place on 31 May 2025 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The winner of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League will automatically qualify for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout stages and will play the winner of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League for the 2025 UEFA Super Cup.
Schedule of matches of the first round of the UEFA Champions League:
Tuesday 17 September
Young Boys vs Aston Villa (18:45)
Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven (18:45)
AC Milan vs Liverpool
Bayern München vs GNK Dinamo
Real Madrid vs Stuttgart
Sporting CP vs LOSC Lille
Wednesday 18 September
Sparta Praha vs Salzburg (18:45)
Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk (18:45)
Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund
Manchester City vs Inter
Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
Thursday 19 September
Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen (18:45)
Crvena Zvezda vs Benfica (18:45)
Monaco vs Barcelona
Atalanta vs Arsenal
Atlético de Madrid vs Leipzig
Brest vs Sturm Graz
The calendar of the remaining game days of the general stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League can be found here.
