That’s all from me for this evening, thanks for following along.
While we were focusing on the Champions League draw, Shamrock Rovers suffered a 1-0 defeat away to KuPS, 2-1 on aggregate, seeing them out of the Conference League playoffs.
Gavin Cummiskey’s report on the match in Kuopio will be on The Irish Times website shortly.
And FINALLY, Pot 4:
Slavia Prague
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A
Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A
Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A
Pot 4: Lens H; Sabah A
Stuttgart
Pot 1: Atlético H; Inter A
Pot 2: Club Brugge H; PSV A
Pot 3: Lille H; Galatasaray A
Pot 4: Viking H; Slovan Bratislava A
Como
Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A
Pot 2: Manchester United H; Real Betis A
Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A
Lens
Pot 1: Manchester City H; Liverpool A
Pot 2: Sporting H; Club Brugge A
Pot 3: Bodo/Glimt H; RB Leipzig A
Pot 4: Como H; Slavia Prague A
LASK
Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: Porto H; Sporting A
Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo/Glimt A
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; AEK Athens A
Slovan Bratislava
Pot 1: Inter H; PSG A
Pot 2: Real Betis H; Roma A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Lille A
Pot 4: Stuttgart H; LASK A
Viking
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atlético A
Pot 2: PSV H; Aston Villa A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Napoli A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Stuttgart A
Sabah
Pot 1: Barcelona H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Manchester United A
Pot 3: Napoli H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; Viking A
AEK Athens
Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Manchester City A
Pot 2: Roma H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Shakhtar Donetsk A
Pot 4: LASK H; Como A
And the Pot 3 teams:
Galatasaray
Pot 1: Barcelona H; PSG A
Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Sporting A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A
Pot 4: Stuttgart H; AEK Athens A
Villarreal
Pot 1: PSG H; Liverpool A
Pot 2: Manchester United H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Napoli H; Fenerbahce A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A
Napoli
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Manchester City A
Pot 2: Club Brugge H; Porto A
Pot 3: Bodo/Glimt H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Viking H; Sabah A
RB Leipzig
Pot 1: Manchester City H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: PSV H; Manchester City A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: Lens H; Como A
Fenerbahce
Pot 1: Liverpool H; Atlético A
Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A
Pot 3: Villarreal H; Shakhtar Donetsk A
Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; LASK A
Feyenoord
Pot 1: Inter H; Barcelona A
Pot 2: Porto H; Real Betis A
Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Galatasaray A
Pot 4: Como H; Viking A
Shakhtar Donetsk
Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Inter A
Pot 2: Sporting H; PSV A
Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; RB Leipzig A
Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Slovan Bratislava A
Lille
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: Real Betis H; Roma A
Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Bodo/Glimt A
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Stuttgart A
Bodo/Glimt
Pot 1: Atlético H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: PSV H; Manchester United A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: Lens H; Como A
Here’s how the cards fell for all the Pot 2 teams:
Manchester United
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atlético Madrid A
Pot 2: Roma H; Sporting A
Pot 3: Leipzig H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Como A
Real Betis
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A
Pot 2: Porto H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A
Pot 4: Como H; Slovan Bratislava A
Club Brugge
Pot 1: Liverpool H; Inter A
Pot 2: Aston Villa H; PSV A
Pot 3: Bodo/Glimt H; Napoli A
Pot 4: Lens H; Stuttgart A
Dortmund
Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: Real Betis H; Aston Villa A
Pot 3: Villarreal H; Bodo Glimt A
Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Sabah A
Porto
Pot 1: Manchester City H; Liverpool A
Pot 2: PSV H; Real Betis A
Pot 3: Napoli H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; LASK A
Aston Villa
Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Club Brugge A
Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Galatasaray A
Pot 4: Viking H; Slavia Prague A
Roma
Pot 1: Real Madrid H; PSG A
Pot 2: Sporting H; Manchester United A
Pot 3: Lille H; Feverbahce A
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; AEK Athens A
Sporting
Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A
Pot 2: Manchester United H; Roma A
Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Shakhtar Donetsk A
Pot 4: LASK H; Lens A
PSV
Pot 1: Atlético H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: Club Brugge H; Porto A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Leipzig A
Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Viking A
That’s the draw complete. Somehow, it managed to be both a marathon and a sprint.
We’ll work our way through the ties from the latter pots shortly, but for now, here’s the confirmed fixture of the top-ranked clubs. (Remember, these are ranked by pot, not date. The confirmed fixture details will be shared on Saturday.)
Arsenal
Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Bayern Munich A
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Real Betis A
Pot 3: Lille H; Napoli A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A
Liverpool
Pot 1: Atlético Madrid H; Inter A
Pot 2: Porto H; Club Brugge A
Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A
Pot 4: Lens H; LASK A
Manchester City
Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A
Pot 2: Sporting H; Porto A
Pot 3: Napoli H; RB Leipzig A
Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A
Paris Saint-Germain
Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A
Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A
Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Como A
Real Madrid
Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A
Pot 3: Leipzig H; Shakhtar A
Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A
Barcelona
Pot 1: Manchester City H; PSG A
Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Galatasary A
Pot 4: Como H; Sabah A
Inter Milan
Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: Club Brugee H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Slovan Bratislava A
Atlético Madrid
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Liverpool A
Pot 2: Manchester United H; PSV A
Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo/Glimt A
Pot 4: Viking H; Stuttgart A
Bayern Munich
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Atlétic Madrid A
Pot 2: Real Betis H; Manchester United A
Pot 3: Bodo/Glimt H; Lille A
Pot 4: Slavia Praha H; Viking A
The Pot 4 teams are drawn as follows:
Lens, Slavia Prague, Sabah, Stuttgart, Como, LASK, Viking, AEK Athens, and Slovan Bratislava.
One last pot to go. Here are the teams in Pot 4 (with their club coefficient rank), who are just waiting to learn their Pot 4 opponents:
28. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
29. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
30. Stuttgart (Germany)
31. AEK Athens (Greece)
32. LASK (Austria)
33. Como (Italy)
34. Lens (France)
35. Viking (Norway)
36. Sabah (Azerbaijan)
Wild switch-up for Pot 3, Henry is gone over to take control of the button for the automated system while Villa will do the manual draws.
Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk out first, followed by Villarreal.
Bodo/Glimt, RB Leipzig, Fenerbahce and Feyenoord are next to be drawn.
Galatasaray, Napoli and Lille complete Pot 3.
We’ll confirm all the ties shortly.
The draw is speeding up now because of all the known ties.
The order the Pot 2 teams are drawn is as follows: Club Brugge, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Aston Villa, Real Betis, Roma, Manchester United, Sporting, and PSV.
We’ll confirm all of their respective matchups, but let’s start with Manchester United:
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atlético Madrid A
Pot 2: Roma H; Sporting A
Pot 3: Leipzig H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Como A
And here’s what Troy Parrott and his new team-mates at Real Betis have to look forward to:
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A
Pot 2: Porto H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A
Pot 4: Como H; Slovan Bratislava A
Just a note, the fixtures are listed by pot, not in order of how the games will necessarily be played.
And finally for Pot 1, Bayern Munich:
Pot 1: Arsenal H; Atlétic Madrid A
Pot 2: Real Betis H; Manchester United A
Pot 3: Bodo/Glimt H; Lille A
Pot 4: Slavia Praha H; Viking A
Then two Premier League sides out in succession.
First, Liverpool:
Pot 1: Atlético Madrid H; Inter A
Pot 2: Porto H; Club Brugge A
Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A
Pot 4: Lens H; LASK A
Then Arsenal:
Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Bayern Munich A
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Real Betis A
Pot 3: Lille H; Napoli A
Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A
Reigning back-to-back champions PSG are out next:
Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A
Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A
Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Villarreal A
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Como A
For Real Madrid, it’s:
Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A
Pot 3: Leipzig H; Shakhtar A
Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A
And Atlético Madrid:
Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Liverpool A
Pot 2: Manchester United H; PSV A
Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo/Glimt A
Pot 4: Viking H; Stuttgart A
Inter Milan out next:
Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A
Pot 2: Club Brugee H; Borussia Dortmund A
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A
Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Slovan Bratislava A
Then it’s Barcelona
Pot 1: Manchester City H; PSG A
Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A
Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Galatasary A
Pot 4: Como H; Sabah A
Next is Manchester City:
Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A
Pot 2: Sporting H; Porto A
Pot 3: Napoli H; RB Leipzig A
Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A
Henry will manually draw the teams from the bowls, Villa will kick-off the automated system.
First club out is Real Madrid.
The automated system gives them the following fixtures:
Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A
Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A
Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Shakhtar Donetsk A
Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A
All the explaining out of the way, there’s a quick video to show us out Pot 1 teams, who are:
1. Paris Saint-Germain (France)
2. Bayern Munich (Germany)
3. Real Madrid (Spain)
4. Liverpool (England)
5. Inter Milan (Italy)
6. Manchester City (England)
7. Arsenal (England)
8. Barcelona (Spain)
9. Atlético Madrid (Spain)
The chatting is done, thankfully. The draw is ready to get going.
Uefa deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti joins the gang on stage. He gives a quick recap of last season and welcomes along the first-time qualifiers.
Oh yay, an explainer video to chat us through the draw procedure. We could be here another awhile yet.
Henry’s going to stick around and help with the draw, along with former Barcelona striker David Villa, who also fields a few questions on his Champions League memories.
Now, on to the Uefa President’s Award.
It goes to Thierry Henry.
Čeferin says he knew Henry as a “cold-blooded striker, without any emotions on the field”, but commends him on his efforts to tackle discrimination in the sport and his charity work since hanging up his boots.
They’re having a bit of a chat with Henry now, going over some fond and not-so-fond Champions League memories. He was a runner-up with Arsenal in 2006 before sealing the title with Barcelona in 2009, beating Manchester United in the final.
Before the draw, we’re going to celebrate “two very special individuals”.
Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin takes to the stage to first tell us about the Respect: Beyond the Game award.
The recipient is PSG captain Marquinhos. Čeferin highlights how Marquinhos comforted Arsenal players after his side’s Champions League victory in May.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi picks up the award on Marquinhos’ behalf.
As we’re played in with a live version of the Champions League anthem, here are the make-ups of the four pots, with their relevant club coefficient rankings:
Pot 1
1. Paris Saint-Germain (France); 2. Bayern Munich (Germany); 3. Real Madrid (Spain); 4. Liverpool (England); 5. Inter Milan (Italy); 6. Manchester City (England); 7. Arsenal (England); 8. Barcelona (Spain); 9. Atlético Madrid (Spain)
Pot 2
10. Borussia Dortmund (Germany); 11. Roma (Italy); 12. Sporting (Portugal); 13. Aston Villa (England); 14. Porto (Portugal); 15. Manchester United (England); 16. Club Brugge (Belgium); 17. Real Betis (Spain); 18. PSV (Netherlands)
Pot 3
19. Feyenoord (Netherlands); 20. LOSC Lille (France); 21. Bodo/Glimt (Norway); 22. Napoli (Italy); 23. RB Leipzig (Germany); 24. Villarreal (Spain); 25. Fenerbahce (Turkey); 26. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine); 27. Galatasaray (Turkey)
Pot 4
28. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic); 29. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia); 30. Stuttgart (Germany); 31. AEK Athens (Greece); 32. LASK (Austria); 33. Como (Italy); 34. Lens (France); 35. Viking (Norway); 36. Sabah (Azerbaijan)
The draw is almost ready to get under way in Monaco.
On the home/away aspect of the draw – which will be determined by the all-knowing, all-powerful automated system – of the two fixtures each team will have against opponents from the four different pots, one will be played at home, the other away.
Uefa are simply incapable of conducting a straightforward draw, so class is in session.
Today’s league-phase draw will see the 36 teams split into four pots of nine based on their club coefficient rankings at the start of the year. The top nine ranked seeds will be in Pot 1 (with reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain ranked first), 10-18 in Pot 2, etc.
The draw will be a mix of manual and digital. Stick with me here. A ball will manually be picked from Pot 1. When the club is revealed, automated software will randomly draw eight opponents; two teams from each of the four pots. The automated system will also determine whether these fixtures will be played at home or away.
The automated system takes into account that a team cannot play a side from their own association (ie Premier League teams, which come under the English FA, cannot play each other), and a team can play a maximum of two teams from the same association (ie an English team can only play two Spanish teams).
This procedure will be repeated for all the teams in Pot 1.
With all the teams from Pot 1 assigned, the draw will move on to Pot 2. The teams will be drawn from Pot 2, already knowing their Pot 1 opponents, so one manually drawn from the bowl, the automated system will assign their remaining six opponents (two teams each from Pots 2, 3 and 4). Again, the system will also determine whether the games will be played at home or away.
The draw continues to Pot 3, when only teams from Pots 3 and 4 will need to be assigned, and then Pot 4, when the remaining teams in that bowl will learn their fate.
I’d suggest not getting too hung up on understanding the process. Just follow along and we’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Five Premier League teams involved in this evening’s draw: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.
Of course, there’s also Irish interest further afield, Real Betis suddenly enjoying an uptick in Irish support, so we’ll keep an eye on where they end up.
The league phase begins on September 8th and is due to wrap up on January 27th.
Kick-off times and venues for the fixtures will be communicated “no later than Saturday”, according to Uefa.
Here are all the league-phase dates:
Match day 1: September 8th-10th, 2026
Match day 2: October 13th/14th, 2026
Match day 3: October 20th/21st, 2026
Match day 4: November 3rd/4th, 2026
Match day 5: November 24th/25th, 2026
Match day 6: December 8th/9th, 2026
Match day 7: January 19th/20th, 2027
Match day 8: January 27th, 2027
Hello, and welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for the league phase draw for the 2026/27 Uefa Champions League.
Thirty-six teams are in the bowls to make 144 league-phase fixtures which will be played across eight rounds from early September to late January.
We’ll have live updates from the draw, taking place in Monaco from 5pm Irish time.
The clubs in the draw are:
AEK Athens (Greece), Arsenal (England), Aston Villa (England), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Bodo/Glimt (Norway), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium), Como (Italy), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Feyenoord (Netherlands), Galatasaray (Turkey), Inter Milan (Italy), LASK (Austria), Leipzig (Germany), Lens (France), Lille (France), Liverpool (England), Manchester City (England), Manchester United (England), Napoli (Italy), Paris (France), Porto (Portugal), PSV (Netherlands), Real Betis (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain), Roma (Italy), Sabah (Azerbaijan), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Sporting CP (Portugal), Stuttgart (Germany), Viking (Norway), Villarreal (Spain).