UEFA Champions League 2025-26 Knockout Play-Off Draw Sets the Road to the Last 16

UEFA officially conducted the draw for the knockout play-off round of the 2025-26 Champions League in late January in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw followed the conclusion of the league phase, which marked the second season of the competition using the new format that replaces the traditional group stage with a single league table.

Under the updated system, the top eight teams in the league standings earned automatic qualification for the round of 16, allowing them to bypass the play-off round entirely. Teams finishing between ninth and twenty-fourth place, however, must compete in the play-offs to claim the remaining eight spots in the last 16, making this stage a crucial gateway in the tournament.

The draw structure was based on final league rankings, dividing clubs into seeded and non-seeded groups. Seeded teams, ranked ninth to sixteenth, were paired against non-seeded teams ranked seventeenth to twenty-fourth in a predefined bracket system. Each tie will be played over two legs without the away-goals rule, ensuring a balanced and competitive path as Europe’s top clubs battle for progression.

Knockout Play-Off Draw Results
· Benfica vs Real Madrid
· Bodø/Glimt vs Inter Milan
· AS Monaco vs PSG
· Qarabag vs Newcastle United
· Galatasaray vs Juventus
· Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid
· Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta
· Olympiakos vs Bayer Leverkusen