Bayern must go to Flick's club, BVB again against Real

The premier class season offers some top duels early on. That was the result of the draw in Monaco. The ticker for the draw can be read here.

Update, 7.10pm: UEFA will announce the dates of the parties on August 31. The first matchday of the Champions League season is scheduled for September 17 to 19.

Champions League draw: Who will the German teams?

Update, 7:07 p.m.: The final matches have been decided, meaning the draw for the Champions League league system is over. There are many exciting duels to come, and German fans can look forward to it.

Update, 7:03 p.m.: The fans of VfB Stuttgart can look forward to great trips: Not only Real and PSG as well as two top Italian clubs are waiting, but also three traditional clubs from Eastern Europe.

Update, 6:59 p.m.: Only the fourth pot is missing – and that means that all opponents of CL returnee Stuttgart will be determined straight away.

Update, 6:55 p.m.: While there is no German club in the draw, VfB Stuttgart's opponents are slowly but surely emerging. The competitors are gradually trickling in, including last season's European Cup winners, Real Madrid and Atalanta Bergamo.

Update, 6:50 p.m.: Pot two is completely full, we move on to the third pool of nine.

Update, 6.46 p.m.: Like Leipzig, German champions Bayer Leverkusen will face several strong teams. Among others, Alonso's eleven will face Liverpool FC, the two Milan teams and Atlético Madrid. The Werkself will avoid another duel against Europa League finalist Atalanta, to whom Leverkusen recently lost 3-0.

draw the Champions League: FC Bayern meets Flick

Update, 6.40 p.m.: And Borussia Dortmund's opponents have now been decided. In addition to Barca and last year's finalist Real Madrid, they include newcomers Bologna and Sturm Graz from Austria.

Update, 6.37pm: Shortly afterwards, the computer determines RB Leipzig's matches. There are some heavyweights in the team, including Juventus, Atlético, Inter and Liverpool.

Update, 6.35pm: Next up is FC Bayern. And this draw is tough: The Munich team will play against PSG and former coach Hansi Flick, who coaches FC Barcelona.

Update, 6.32pm: First, Manchester City will receive its opponents. Then comes Inter Milan, who will face Leipzig and Leverkusen, among others.

Update, 6:28 p.m.: The triggering begins! First, Gigi Buffon draws the teams from the pots. The opponents are then determined immediately by Cristiano Ronaldo at the push of a button.

Update, 6:23 p.m.: UEFA presenter Giorgio Marchetti now takes to the stage. He supervised the draw as usual and explained a few things about the procedure beforehand. He expressly welcomed this year's debutants in the tournament, which has been held since 1992.

Update, 6:18 p.m.: In a staged promotional film that can now be seen, numerous legends such as Rodri and Alessandro del Piero reveal initial problems with the new format of the competition. But the difficulties are solved by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is portrayed as a pioneer of the new Champions League. And there is also a dig at the Super League.

Update, 6:16 p.m.: Now the moderators move on to the actual draw during the ceremony. Fans will soon find out which clubs will play against each other in the 2024/25 Champions League season.

Ronaldo and Buffon: CL legends honored before draw

Update, 6.10 p.m.: And Cristiano Ronaldo also received an award. After a short highlight video, Ceferin presented the Portuguese, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, with a special prize.

Update, 6:07 p.m.: Before the draw begins, Aleksander Ceferin honors former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with the UEFA President's Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements in football.

Update, 6:04 p.m.: After a short introductory video with glorious moments from the competition, the ceremony in Monaco begins. The presenter duo Reshmin Chowdhury and Pedro Pinto will lead the evening.

Update, 6:01 p.m.: Shortly before the draw, the possibility of a cyber attack is causing a stir. A supercomputer is responsible for a large part of the draw, so this does not seem to be out of the question.

Update from August 29, 5:56 p.m.: The draw for the preliminary round of the Champions League will begin in a few minutes. The games between the teams will be triggered by software. But it is said that the person who will be operating this software will be none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Update from August 29, 5:28 p.m.: Two deserving legends of the Champions League will also be in the spotlight during the course of the evening. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin will award Cristiano Ronaldo, five-time winner of the Champions League, and former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for their services.

Update from August 29, 4:57 p.m.: Today's draw marks a special day, especially for one German representative. VfB Stuttgart is returning to the Champions League after 14 years. Back then, the Swabians were clearly defeated 1:5 (1:1, 0:4) by FC Barcelona in the round of 16.

Does VfB now have the opportunity for revenge? The draw could see Sebastian Hoeneß's team face Barca again this season.

First report from August 29, 4:35 p.m.: Monaco – Everything is new in the Champions League: From now on there will be no more group phase, but a league system with more games for each club. The number of participating teams will also increase from 32 to 36. Now the draw for the preliminary round is taking place (from 6 p.m., you can find all the TV information on the Champions League draw here) – and this will also be carried out in an unusual way.

Champions League draw today in the live ticker: New mode causes a stir

For the 2024/25 season, the Champions League will have a completely new format. The number of participants is higher and the format is different. There are no longer any groups. From now on, the clubs will play in a league made up of all 36 teams. These will be divided into four pots before the draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

There will also be no return matches. Instead of playing against three opponents twice as usual, each team will be drawn against eight different opponents (two per pot). The respective club will only face each of these eight once.

Drawing the Champions League: Supercomputer lost from

The individual teams from the pots will continue to be drawn using the familiar balls that contain the tickets. The matches will then be determined by software.

After all, the future format involves far more different teams. Drawing each of these teams individually would probably take UEFA up to four hours to calculate. That's why the association is now using a supercomputer to quickly allocate the Champions League preliminary rounds.

Champions League: Five German teams are taking part this season

Meanwhile, a quintet from the Bundesliga are watching Monaco with rapt eyes. This season, five teams are representing German football: last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund and champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen, as well as VfB Stuttgart, FC Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. BVB, Bayern and Saxony are even in pot one. The Werkself are in second place, VfB in fourth.