Champions League knockout phase play-off draw: Manchester City get Real Madrid, Bayern visit Celtic

Friday, January 31, 2025

The 16 sides involved have learned their opponents in the inaugural knockout phase play-offs.

The eight knockout phase play-off ties in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League are now set following the inaugural draw on Friday.

The draw as it happened

What are the Champions League knockout phase play-off ties?

Knockout phase play-off fixtures

Matches kick off at 21:00 CET unless stated

First legs

11/02: Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain (18:45 CET)

11/02: Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven

11/02: Manchester City vs Real Madrid

11/02: Sporting CP vs Borussia Dortmund

12/02: Club Brugge vs Atalanta (18:45 CET)

12/02: Monaco vs Benfica

12/02: Celtic vs Bayern München

12/02: Feyenoord vs Milan

Second legs

18/02: Milan vs Feyenoord (18:45 CET)

18/02: Atalanta vs Club Brugge

18/02: Bayern München vs Celtic

18/02: Benfica vs Monaco

19/02: Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP (18:45 CET)

19/02: Paris Saint-Germain vs Brest

19/02: PSV Eindhoven vs Juventus

19/02: Real Madrid vs Manchester City

When are the Champions League knockout phase matches?

Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draw: 21 February 2025

Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025

Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025

Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025

Final: 31 May 2025

Who is already through to the last 16?

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Atleti, Barcelona, Inter, Leverkusen, Lille, Liverpool

How did the draw work?

Eight bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in pairs in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.

The draw started by allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18. One ball was taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams. The first team drawn was placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket, the second in the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket. The same procedure was carried out with the remaining unseeded clubs.

New format explained

The draw continued with the seeded sides, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16. The process was the same as described above for the unseeded teams, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout round play-offs. In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg at home.

Where is the 2025 Champions League final?