Liverpool to play Real Madrid again in Champions League and Arne Slot calls it a fixture 'the whole world will be looking at'
Published 28/08/2025 at 22:05 GMT+1
Liverpool will again play Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. The teams were drawn to play each other in this season's league phase. Real have won two recent finals, with Liverpool victorious in the league phase last season. Head coach Arne Slot says it is a fixture "the whole world will be looking at". Live coverage of the UEFA Champions League is on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says their forthcoming meeting with Real Madrid will be a fixture "the whole world will be looking at".
In Thursday's draw for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool were drawn to play Real (home), Internazionale (away), Atletico Madrid (home), Eintracht Frankfurt (away), PSV Eindhoven (home), Marseille (away), Qarabag (home) and Galatasaray (away).
Live coverage of Champions League matches throughout the season will be on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Meetings between Liverpool and Real have become a titanic feature of the Champions League in the last two decades.
There have been two finals between the teams, both won by Real, in 2018 and 2022. Last season, Liverpool won 2-0 in the league phase at Anfield.
"To be able to welcome Real Madrid to Anfield again is something special," Slot said.
"Last season's game was of course a memorable one – and I expect the same this time around.
"That is, I am sure, a fixture that the whole world will be looking at."
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Cody Gakpo scores Liverpool's second goal in their 2-0 victory over Real last season
Image credit: Getty Images
Slot also reflected on the draw overall, saying how pleased he is that the list of Liverpool's opponents includes a Dutch team.
"I think the first thing to say is that like last season, it is a very challenging draw," Slot said. "But we knew that it would be because in the Champions League, especially with the new format, there is no such thing as an easy draw.
"But what is also clear is that this is a very exciting draw, full of big games both home and away.
"On a personal note, it is always nice to play against a Dutch team in PSV Eindhoven, a team that won the league title two years in a row.
"The same goes for Galatasaray, who have won three in a row in Turkey, and for Qarabag, the champions of Azerbaijan.
"And to also play against sides of the calibre of Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Marseille shows the strength of this competition.
"None of our league-phase games will be straightforward, that is clear, but I am sure our supporters will be looking forward to all of the Anfield games and to all of the away fixtures, which will all be played in big stadiums with fanatical and passionate fans.
"They will be excited and so are we. We have a very busy schedule coming up, both domestically and in Europe, but we are excited and ready for the challenges ahead."
Liverpool finished top of the league phase table last season, with seven wins from eight matches.
But they exited the competition at the last-16 stage, beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout at Anfield.
Slot's team have had the perfect start in the Premier League as they aim to defend their title, beating Bournemouth 4-2 in the opening game of the season and then claiming a dramatic 3-2 win at Newcastle United on Monday.
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Stream the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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