Zlatan Ibrahimovic draws out Real Madrid CF during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase Draw at Grimaldi Forum on August 28, 2025 in Monaco, Monaco.
UEFA via Getty Images
The UEFA Champions League group stage draw took place on Thursday evening in Monaco as former Milan and Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and former Real Madrid midfielder Kaka did the honors, deciding the fate of teams with their fixtures for the league stage of this year’s competition.
Among those watching on was Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid, who were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Arsenal in last season’s competition. That defeat proved to be one of the final nails in the coffin of the Carlo Ancelotti era.
This season, the club will face one of the more challenging draws with visits to Premier League champions Liverpool and Greek Super League champions Olympiacos among those games waiting for Los Blancos.
With fixtures set to be played starting in September and concluding in late January 2026, the details of the Champions League group stage draw can be found here.
Real Madrid’s league stage opponents in the Champions League 2025/26
At home, Real Madrid will welcome three previous Champions League winners in the shape of Manchester City, Juventus, and Olympique Marseille, with all three clubs set to visit the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
That means a re-match of what has become an iconic battle between Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The pair have met several times in recent years, including a historic late comeback in the semi-final second leg in 2022, and are now set to meet again.
Juventus will also return to the Bernabéu for the first time since the quarter-finals in 2018, when a 98th minute Cristiano Ronaldo penalty saw the Spanish team through amid controversy as Gianluigi Buffon was sent off for the Italians.
French side Olympique Marseille will also visit the Spanish capital, amid ongoing transfer speculation suggesting that midfielder Dani Ceballos could depart the club to join Marseille.
The final team to make up Real Madrid’s four home fixtures is AS Monaco, including on-loan FC Barcelona forward Ansu Fati among their ranks.
On the road, Real Madrid will return to Anfield, where they were beaten by Arne Slot’s team last season with Kylian Mbappé missing a penalty in the process. They will also face a shorter visit to Benfica in Lisbon.
One of the more eye-catching fixtures is Real Madrid’s first competitive fixture against Olympiacos since a 0-0 draw in November 2007. The Greek champions currently have a Spanish coach in former Eibar boss José Luis Mendilibar.
There will also be a first ever meeting with Kazakh club Kairat Almaty in one of the longest away journeys that any team will make in the competition.
Fixture dates for Champions League 2025/26
Precise fixture dates and kick-off times will be published in the coming days after consultation between clubs, UEFA, and local authorities for policing requirements. Once agreed, the exact schedules will be arranged.
Until then, UEFA has already confirmed the exact dates of each matchday, which include the following:
Matchday one: September 16–18, 2025
Matchday two: September 30 – October 1, 2025
Matchday three: October 21–22, 2025
Matchday four: November 4-5, 2025
Matchday five: November 25-26, 2025
Matchday six: December 9-10, 2025
Matchday seven: January 20-21, 2026
Matchday eight: January 28, 2026
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samleveridge/2025/08/28/real-madrid-champions-league-draw-opponents-dates-and-details/
