Real Madrid 2026/27 Champions League Draw - Who, When, Where?

Aug 27, 2026 11:43 PM - 1 hour ago 1

Real Madrid learned their opponents for the 2026-27 Champions League convention shape connected Thursday, arsenic UEFA held this season's tie successful Geneva. Under the competition's Swiss-style format, now successful its 3rd year, Real Madrid will play 8 league-phase matches, 4 astatine location and 4 away, against sides drawn from 4 seeding pots alternatively than the aged group of four.

This year’s tie pairs Real Madrid pinch Inter Milan and Arsenal from Pot One, PSV Eindhoven and Roma from Pot Two, Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk from Pot Three, and LASK and AEK Athens from Pot Four. It is simply a operation of aged rivals and adjacent strangers, fixed that Arsenal hit Real Madrid retired of the quarter-finals only 2 years ago, Roma erstwhile knocked them retired nether coach José Mourinho's aged adversaries, and LASK person ne'er faced them astatine all.

Real Madrid spell into the run looking to bounce backmost from a tally of 3 quarter-final exits successful 4 seasons, sandwiched astir their 15th European Cup successful 2023-24. The convention shape runs from September done January, pinch matchday dates and kick-off times still to beryllium confirmed by UEFA, earlier the knockout rounds statesman successful February and build toward the last astatine Madrid's ain Estadio Metropolitano adjacent June.

Who Will Real Madrid Play In The Champions League Group Stage?

Pot 1 of the tie brings the heaviest company, Inter Milan astatine location and Arsenal away. Real Madrid’s grounds against Inter is 1 of the astir one-sided successful the competition, 8 wins from 9 location meetings and 4 consecutive victories successful their caller run. Arsenal is simply a different proposition. The 2 clubs person met conscionable twice, backmost successful 2005-06, earlier colliding again successful the 2024-25 quarter-finals, erstwhile Arsenal won 5-1 connected aggregate and clasp the head-to-head separator from each 3 meetings.

Pot 2 pairs PSV Eindhoven astatine location pinch Roma away, and gives the tie its clearest Mourinho connection. Real Madrid and PSV person met only 3 times, each successful the precocious 1980s, splitting a semi-final and quarter-final complete consecutive seasons, truthful this will beryllium their first competitory fixture successful good complete 3 decades. Roma is overmuch amended trodden ground: Real Madrid person won 8 of eleven European meetings, including a 4-0 aggregate triumph successful the 2015-16 past 16, and it was Mourinho who managed Roma from 2021 to 2024, lifting the Europa Conference League and reaching a Europa League last earlier his exit led him backmost to Portugal.

Pot 3 sends Leipzig to the Bernabéu and takes Real Madrid to Shakhtar Donetsk. Leipzig and Real Madrid person met 3 times, each since 2022, pinch Real Madrid winning twice, though Leipzig did manus them their first conclusion of the 2022-23 convention shape on the way. Shakhtar is simply a reunion pinch a broadside Real Madrid faced regularly successful the mid-2010s, beating them location and distant during the 2015-16 title run, and fixed Shakhtar’s continued displacement from location matches successful Ukraine, this necktie will again beryllium played astatine a neutral venue astatine Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge successful London.

Pot 4 is the slightest charted territory: LASK astatine location and AEK Athens away. Real Madrid person nary recorded history against the Austrian broadside successful Europe, making it the astir straightforward chartless of the draw. AEK Athens is much familiar, having met Real Madrid successful the 2018-19 convention phase, which Real Madrid won comfortably some times.

When Will Real Madrid Play In UEFA Champions League Group Stage?

The convention shape dates for 2026-27 are group out, though nonstop kick-off times per fixture will only onshore erstwhile UEFA publishes the afloat schedule pursuing today’s draw.

Matchday 1 falls connected Sept. 8-10, 2026, kicking disconnected the convention shape proper. Matchday 2 follows connected Oct. 13-14, past Matchday 3 connected Oct. 20-21, a speedy turnaround emblematic of the compressed early-season block.

November brings 2 rounds: Matchday 4 connected Nov. 3-4 and Matchday 5 connected Nov. 24-25. Matchday six lands connected Dec. 8-9, closing retired the calendar-year fixtures.

The convention shape past breaks for wintertime earlier wrapping up successful January, pinch Matchday six connected Jan. 19-20, 2027 and the last round, Matchday eight, played arsenic a azygous midweek day connected Jan. 27 (all 36 teams playing simultaneously, modular believe for the closing information since UEFA introduced the Swiss-style format).

From there, the knockout shape play-offs tally Feb. 16-17 and 23-24, 2027, the information of 16 connected March 9-10 and 16-17, quarter-finals connected April 6-7 and 13-14, semi-finals connected April 27-28 and May 4-5, and the last astatine the Estadio Metropolitano successful Madrid connected June 5, 2027.

Real Madrid’s Recent History In The UEFA Champions League

Real Madrid’s Champions League run past play stalled again successful the quarter-finals, but not earlier an intriguing subplot involving Jose Mourinho. Under caller coach Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid vanished a constituent extracurricular the automatic last-16 spots and had to past a playoff information to scope the knockouts. Their force was Benfica, led by Mourinho aft he returned to his autochthonal Portugal pursuing his Fenerbahce exit. Real Madrid sewage past his broadside while being coached by his erstwhile subordinate Álvaro Arbeloa, and past thumped Manchester City 5-1 connected aggregate successful the information of 16, only to beryllium eliminated by Bayern Munich successful the quarter-finals aft a dense first-leg conclusion successful Germany.

The play earlier that ended moreover worse. Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid scraped past Atlético Madrid successful the past 16 successful 2024-25, past were dismantled by Arsenal successful the quarter-finals, losing 5-1 connected aggregate aft a 3-0 first-leg beating astatine the Emirates. It was Madrid’s first quarter-final exit since Monaco knocked them retired successful 2003-04.

Go backmost 1 much twelvemonth and the image flips completely. In 2023-24, Madrid won a 15th European Cup, beating Borussia Dortmund astatine Wembley, pinch Vinícius Júnior named the tournament’s champion subordinate and Jude Bellingham its champion young player.

Mourinho is backmost now having antecedently managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013 and ne'er winning the Champions League pinch Los Blancos. He reached the semi-finals successful each 3 of his seasons successful charge, losing to Barcelona successful 2011, going retired to Bayern Munich connected penalties successful 2012, and falling to his aged nine Dortmund successful 2013.