Real Madrid, 15-time Champions League winners, face a tough draw this season against Liverpool and Manchester City.
Paris Saint-Germain, the current champions, must also navigate a challenging path to the knockout stage, facing Barcelona (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United (Premier League).
Liverpool hosts Madrid, potentially featuring Alexander-Arnold’s Anfield comeback following his recent transfer.
Madrid, who drew two English teams, lost 2-0 at Anfield last year. Xabi Alonso’s team will face 2023 champions Man City, who they defeated in last season’s playoffs.
Madrid will play Juventus again, as in their 2017 final win, and Marseille and Monaco, two Ligue 1 teams where Kylian Mbappé began his career.
As if that weren’t bad enough, they also have a 4,000-mile trip to Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan.
The draw in Monaco on Thursday also determined other marquee league-stage matches: Chelsea will host Barcelona, while Arsenal will play Inter Milan.
Liverpool will play away games against Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille and Galatasaray after welcoming back Alexander-Arnold and Madrid.
The draw offered another opportunity for a big return, with expectations that Man City icon Kevin De Bruyne would return to the Etihad with his new team, Napoli. Bodo/Glimt of Norway will host City north of the Arctic Circle.
This is the second season using the league phase format, with 36 teams facing eight diverse opponents on a weighted schedule through January, and ranked in a single standings table.
Each team will play two opponents from each of the four seeding pots in the weighted schedule. UEFA ranked the teams based on their competition rankings over a five-season period.
The Champions League main stage welcomes four new teams: Bodø/Glimt, Kairat Almaty, Pafos (a Russian-owned team), and Union Saint-Gilloise (the Belgian champion).
Visiting teams will face their longest trips ever to games in Bodo and Almaty, plus the coldest home games in January. Bodo’s games are on an artificial turf field with heating.
Each team got two opponents from the four seeding pots in the computerized draw. UEFA uses teams’ results from five seasons to seed them.
The games begin Sept. 16, and the league’s last day is Jan. 28. On Wednesday evening, 18 games will start simultaneously, featuring 36 teams.
The top eight teams from the standings will move on to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th will compete in knockout playoffs in February, with eight winners advancing to join them. The last 12 teams are out.