The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League is already building up to be one of the most intense seasons of championships ever. Having Paris Saint-Germain as the defending champion, the new rules regarding the formatting, and a host of backstories to the play-offs, interest is at an all-time high. Viewers have been thrilled with the exciting penalty shootouts, shock results, and dominating qualifying phase. With the eagerly awaited league phase draw scheduled for August 28, 2025, everyone is looking forward to the biggest football event in Europe this season.
Tournament Overview
The 2025-26 season will be the 71st season of Europe’s most prestigious club football tournament and the 34th under its current brand of the Champions League after the European Cup.
- Defending Champions: Paris Saint-Germain, the first-time Champions League winners in 2020.
- Final Venue: Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary, on 30 May 2026.
- Automatic Rewards for Winners:A spot in the 202627 UCL league phase, the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup finals, the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup group stage, and the 2026 UEFA Super Cup against the Europa League winners.
- Historic First:This is the first edition in which there will be six clubs representing one country, with England gaining a second spot due to its coefficient coefficient ranking and Tottenham Hotspur qualifying by winning the 2024/25 Europa League.
Play-off Results: Who Progressed?
The play-offs were dramatic with red cards, penalty shoot-outs, and power performances. Below are the full results from both legs:
UEFA Champions League 2025 Play-off Results
| Date | Match | Result | Notes / Aggregate |
| 21 Aug 2025 | Bodø/Glimt (NOR) vs Sturm Graz (AUT) | 5 – 0 | 1st leg |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Sturm Graz (AUT) vs Bodø/Glimt (NOR) | 2 – 1 | Bodø/Glimt win 6–2 on aggregate |
| 21 Aug 2025 | Celtic (SCO) vs Kairat Almaty (KAZ) | 0 – 0 | 1st leg |
| 26 Aug 2025 | Kairat Almaty (KAZ) vs Celtic (SCO) | 0 – 0 (Kairat win 3–2 pens) | Aggregate 0–0, Kairat advance |
| 21 Aug 2025 | Basel (SUI) vs Copenhagen (DEN) | 1 – 1 | Basel received red card |
| 21 Aug 2025 | Fenerbahçe (TUR) vs Benfica (POR) | 0 – 0 | Benfica received red card |
| 20 Aug 2025 | Qarabag (AZE) vs Ferencváros (HUN) | 3 – 1 | 1st leg |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Ferencváros (HUN) vs Qarabag (AZE) | To be played (22:15 KO) | Qarabag lead 3–1 |
| 27 Aug 2025 | Pafos (CYP) vs Crvena Zvezda (SRB) | 1 – 1 | Pafos win 3–2 on aggregate |
Teams such as Bodø/Glimt, Pafos, and Kairat Almaty ensured their passage, whereas Qarabag is still in the lead before the second leg against Ferencváros.
Read Also: UEFA Champions League 2025 – Second Qualifying Results & Fixtures
Top Scorers and What’s Next
As we head into the league phase, the goalscoring race is already heating up:
| Player | Club | Goals |
| Mikael Ishak | Lech Poznań | 6 |
| Barnabás Varga | Ferencváros | 5 |
| Bruno Duarte | Crvena Zvezda | 4 |
| Djeidi Gassama | Rangers | 4 |
| Nemanja Bilbija | Zrinjski | 4 |
Read Also: UEFA Champions League 2025 Final: When and Where to watch?
The league phase draw will happen on Thursday, 28 August 2025, at 08:30 CET, with the seedings and fixtures being announced at that time. This new setup will mean that fans can now expect one exciting season, and that is because there will now be more battles featuring the top guns in the competition earlier in the competition.
