The return of the Champions League is almost upon us but there are plenty of changes being introduced in the 2024/25 season.
While the Europa Super League may have been smothered at birth four years ago, the Champions League format has alarmingly moved towards that direction from this season onwards.
The competition’s group stage has been scrapped in favour of an initial league format before the knockouts and the tournament has also been extended by four new teams.
There are also more fixtures for clubs to play, adding a further burden on Manchester City, who will also compete in the extended Club World Cup in the summer of 2025.
The changes can be confusing so, ahead of the league phase draw, here is everything you need to know about the Champions League changes in 2024/25 as City aim to reclaim the trophy.
- Champions League draw LIVE: Man City find out league phase opponents and changes explained
What are the Champions League 2024/25 changes and how do they work?
The Champions League as we have come to know it will be completely different from this season onwards.
The competition has been expanded from 32 teams to 36 and the group stages have been replaced with a ‘league phase.’
Rather than having eight groups of four face one another twice, with the top two advancing to the knockouts, all 36 clubs will be placed in a single league table and ranked together.
However, despite being in the same league, the clubs will not be competing against everyone in the table.
Instead of playing six fixtures – three teams twice, both home and away – teams will now play eight matches against eight different teams. Half of them will be at home and half away.
To determine each team’s opponents, all 36 clubs will be seeded into four pots. Each team will be drawn to play two opponents from each pot, including the one they are in, and will face one team from each pot at home and the other one away.
As a result, City will be coming against at least two of Europe’s best teams in the opening stage of this year’s competition and playing at least two additional fixtures.
How do teams qualify for the new Champions League knockout stages?
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16. The teams finishing 9th to 24th will compete in a new two-legged knock-out phase play-off to determine the last 16 teams.
Teams that finish 9th-16th will be drawn against teams between 17th-24th in the play-off and should have the second leg at home.
The teams that advance through the play-offs will then face one of the teams that qualified automatically in the last 16.
Teams finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated and there is no longer access to the Europa League.
After the play-off phase, the competition will continue as it does now.
Who will Man City face in the Champions League?
Manchester City have learned their eight Champions League league phase opponents and have been drawn at home to Inter and away to PSG from Pot 1.
The Blues have also drawn Juventus, one of the toughest teams in Pot 2, away and have also been drawn against Feyenoord (H), Sporting (A), Sparta Prague (H), Club Brugge (H) and Slovan Bratislava (A).
City’s Champions League opponents:
- Inter Milan (H)
- Paris Saint-Germain (A)
- Club Brugge (H)
- Juventus (A)
- Feyenoord (H)
- Sporting CP (A)
- Sparta Prague (H)
- Slovan Bratislava (A)
When does the Champions League 2024/25 start?
The Champions League will get back underway on September 17, with City’s opening fixture awkwardly coming before their first meeting of the season against Premier League title rivals Arsenal.
Champions League league stage schedule
City’s Champions League fixtures will be held on these dates but the order of the games will not be confirmed until Saturday, August 31.
- Matchday 1: 18 September 2024 vs Inter (H)
- Matchday 2: 1 October 2024 vs Slovan Bratislava (A)
- Matchday 3: 23 October 2024 vs Sparta Prague (H)
- Matchday 4: 5 November 2024 vs Sporting (A)
- Matchday 5: 26 November 2024 vs Feyenoord (H)
- Matchday 6: 11 December 2024 vs Juventus (A)
- Matchday 7: 22 January 2025 vs PSG (A)
- Matchday 8: 29 January 2025 vs Club Brugge (H)
Man City Champions League results
Manchester City’s results in the 2024/25 Champions League campaign.
League phase
- Match week 1: Manchester City 0-0 Inter
- Match week 2: Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City – Gundogan, Foden, Haaland, McAtee.
- Match week 3: Manchester City 5-0 Sparta Prague – Foden, Haaland x2, Stones, Nunes.
- Match week 4: Sporting 4-1 Manchester City – Foden.
- Match week 5: Manchester City 3-3 Feyenoord – Haaland x2, Gundogan.
- Match week 6: Juventus 2-0 Manchester City
- Match week 7: Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 Manchester City
- Match week 8: Manchester City 3-1 Club Brugge
Knockout stages
- Play-off first leg: Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid
- Play-off second leg: Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City
Final Champions League table
Manchester City only just qualified for the Champions League knockout stages by finishing 22nd, with only 24 teams going through.
| Position | Team | GD | Points |
| 1 | Liverpool | 12 | 21 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 15 | 19 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 13 | 19 |
| 4 | Inter | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 8 | 18 |
| 6 | Leverkusen | 8 | 16 |
| 7 | Lille | 7 | 16 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 7 | 16 |
| 9 | Atalanta | 14 | 15 |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 10 | 15 |
| 11 | Real Madrid | 8 | 15 |
| 12 | Bayern Munich | 8 | 15 |
| 13 | AC Milan | 3 | 15 |
| 14 | PSV Eindhoven | 4 | 14 |
| 15 | PSG | 5 | 13 |
| 16 | Benfica | 4 | 13 |
| 17 | Monaco | 0 | 13 |
| 18 | Brest | -1 | 13 |
| 19 | Feyenoord | -3 | 13 |
| 20 | Juventus | 2 | 12 |
| 21 | Celtic | -1 | 12 |
| 22 | Manchester City | 4 | 11 |
| 23 | Sporting | 1 | 11 |
| 24 | Club Brugge | -4 | 11 |
| 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | -7 | 11 |
| 26 | Stuttgart | -4 | 10 |
| 27 | Shakhar Donetsk | -8 | 7 |
| 28 | Bologna | -5 | 6 |
| 29 | Crvena zvezda | -9 | 6 |
| 30 | Sturm Graz | -9 | 6 |
| 31 | Sparta Praha | -14 | 4 |
| 32 | RB Leipzig | -7 | 3 |
| 33 | Girona | -8 | 3 |
| 34 | RB Salzburg | -22 | 3 |
| 35 | Slovan Bratislava | -20 | 0 |
| 36 | Young Boys | -21 | 0 |
When is the Champions League knockout stage?
Instead of going straight to the knock-out stages, this year’s tournament will see the introduction of knockout round play-offs.
The matches are held in February and City are 3-2 down to Real Madrid after losing the opening leg at the Etihad.
That will determine the final 16 teams in the competition, which will then return to the familiar structure of a last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final. The draw for those games will be held on February 21.
Champions League knock-out stages schedule
- Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 & 18/19, 2025
- Round of 16: March 4/5 & 11/12, 2025
- Quarter-finals: April 8/9 & 15/16, 2025
- Semi-finals: April 29/30 & May 6/7, 2025
- Final: May 31, 2025
Where is the Champions League 2024/25 final?
The Champions League final in 2024/25 will be held in the Allianz Arena, the home of Bayern Munich, in Germany, on May 31.
What do the Champions League winners get?
The winners of the Champions League get their hands on the club game’s most iconic trophy and get the honour of being labelled the best team in the whole of Europe.
There is also a big cash prize up for grabs, with last season’s winners, Real Madrid, claiming a handsome £17.2m in winnings.
Have Man City won the Champions League before?
Yes. City won the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2023 after defeating Inter 1-0 in the final thanks to Rodri’s fantastic strike.
The monumental triumph saw them become only the second team in English history to complete the treble and Pep Guardiola, in what could be his last season at City, will be hoping to claim the trophy once again.
