The Champions League draw for the 2024/25 knockout round has been made.
The so-called 'Swiss Model' did away with the Champions League's familiar group stage that was used since the tournament's big rebrand from the European Cup in the 1990s.
Liverpool and Barcelona secured their progress to the knockout stages automatically with a top-eight finish, while several European giants went through a new play-off round after finishing between ninth and 24th. But when will clubs know their next opponents? FourFourTwo takes a look…
Champions League draw for the knockout round made 2024/25
The Champions League draw has been made with some huge ties across the last-16.
- Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool
- Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
- Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
- PSV vs Arsenal
- Feyenoord vs Inter Milan
- Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen
- Borussia Dortmund vs Lille
- Benfica vs Barcelona
How does the new Champions League format work?
The competition underwent a significant change for this season.
Gone were the familiar groups of four and in place was a single league containing all 36 teams that made it through.
Each side played eight matches in the league phase against eight different teams (four at home, four away), a change from playing the same opponents home and away.
At the end of the league phase, the top eight teams qualified automatically for the last 16 and those finishing ninth to 24th progressed to a two-legged knock-out play-off.
The competition will then revert back to the pre-existing knockout tournament up to the final, which is played at a neutral venue, with the Allianz Arena in Munich getting the nod this season.
‘There was great chemistry from the start. I’d jump up with a smile on my face, as I knew that if I won the jump and touched the ball, he’d find it for a finish’: How Kevin Keegan proved the perfect strike partner at Liverpool
‘I only played with Gazza for a year, but could still write a book about it! People remember him for his behaviour, which is a shame because he was incredible’ Paul Gascoigne's former team-mate reveals what playing alongside the Englishman was really like
