The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw took place on Friday 31 January.
What are the Champions League knockout phase play-offs?
The knockout phase play-offs are new to the competition in 2024/25. While the top eight sides in the league phase qualify automatically for the round of 16, the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place kick off the knockout stages. They compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16.
From the knockout phase play-offs onwards, the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finished the league phase between ninth and 16th were seeded for the first draw of the knockout phase and paired with a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will, in principle, play the return leg at home.
Potential opponents were also pre-defined by pairings of teams' final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth will face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th were drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides and so on.
The eight clubs that prevail in the knockout phase play-offs progress to the round of 16.
Which teams were in the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw?
The teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the inaugural league phase.
Seeded teams 9. Atalanta (ITA) 10. Borussia Dortmund (GER) 11. Real Madrid (ESP) 12. Bayern München (GER) 13. Milan (ITA) 14. PSV (NED) 15. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 16. Benfica (POR)
Unseeded teams 17. Monaco (FRA) 18. Brest (FRA) 19. Feyenoord (NED) 20. Juventus (ITA) 21. Celtic (SCO) 22. Manchester City (ENG) 23. Sporting CP (POR) 24. Club Brugge (BEL)
Where was the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw?
The draw took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
How did the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw work?
Eight bowls were prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of the seeded and unseeded teams placed in pairs in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league phase rankings.
The draw started with the unseeded teams, allocating each team from a pair of unseeded teams to one of the relevant pre-determined positions in the bracket, starting with the sides ranked 23/24 and finishing with those in 17/18.
One ball was taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 23 and 24) and was opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl was placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other unseeded team of the pairing was then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket.
The same procedure was carried out with the remaining unseeded clubs.
Once all the pairings of unseeded teams had been drawn and assigned to an appropriate position on the bracket, the draw continued with the seeded sides, starting with the pairing ranked 15/16. The process was the same as described above for the unseeded teams, with the first team drawn from the relevant bowl allocated to the reserved designated spot on the silver side of the bracket and the second team on the blue side.
The procedure was repeated for the remaining pairings, finishing with the teams ranked 9/10 to complete the pairings for the knockout round play-offs.
In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg at home.
Could teams from the same national association face each other in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs?
Sides could face another team from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs. Clubs could also face opponents they met during the league phase.
When do the knockout phase play-off games take place?
The knockout phase play-offs are played over the course of two weeks:
First legs: 11/12 February 2025 Second legs: 18/19 February 2025
Each club will, in principle, play once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday. UEFA will confirm the calendar, including match dates and kick-off times, this evening.
