Liverpool and Real Madrid have been drawn against each other in the league phase of the Champions League for a second straight season since the change of format
Kylian Mbappe will not be playing against Liverpool for Real Madrid at Anfield during the league phase of next season’s Champions League(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool already know they will not be able to host Real Madrid at Anfield again should both clubs qualify for the league phase of next season’s Champions League. They have been drawn against each other in two consecutive campaigns since the change of format.
The Reds won 2-0 on Merseyside in late November and will now host Madrid again over the coming weeks. That will be the 13th time they have met in this competition, with all but one of those being in the last 16 years.
However, just two previous matches, a pair of games in 2014, took place during the group stages. Their other meetings were part of the knockout stages, including three finals (1981, 2021 and 2022).
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They will not, though, meet at Anfield again during the league phase next season, in accordance with paragraph 16.03 of the UEFA Champions League regulations.
It states that the “UEFA administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee.”
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As part of the draw procedure adopted, “the UEFA Club Competitions Committee has determined an additional condition that may be applicable to the UEFA Champions League draw for the 2026/27 season, deciding that any individual fixture between the same two teams may not be repeated in the same competition with the same home team for three consecutive seasons.
“This means that if any teams that already played against each other in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in the 2024/25 season are again drawn against each other, with the same home team, in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in this 2025/26 season, those teams will not be able to be drawn against each other with the same home team in the 2026/27 season (although, for the sake of clarity, those teams could still be drawn against each other at the venue of the other team).”
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