A visit to one of the best stadiums in Europe and an expected return: the Barça draw in the Champions League
Barça will return to the Allianz Arena, while Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey will come to the Johan Cruyff stadium
BarcelonaBarça already knows the first six rivals on its path to the Warsaw final, scheduled for the last weekend of May (28th, 29th, or 30th, day still to be set). After touching the sky in Oslo last Saturday, May 24th, the 'blaugranes' are once again starting an exciting journey with the goal of lifting the fifth Champions League in the club's history.
This Friday, Nyon (Switzerland) hosted the league phase draw and determined the fate of the eighteen teams that will participate in this year's edition. Besides Barça, Real Madrid will also be there, while England (Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City), France (Olympique Lyonnais, PSG, and Paris FC), and Italy (Juventus, Inter Milan, and Roma) are the countries with the most representatives.
Pere Romeu's team will face Arsenal—with the return of Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey—, Paris FC—whom they beat 0-2 at their home ground last season—and the Swiss side Servette at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, while they will have to visit the grounds of Bayern Munich—where they drew 1-1 last year in the first leg of the semifinals—, Roma—whom they also visited a year ago with a 0-4 victory—, and Danish side Koge. Real Madrid, for its part, will play at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium against PSG, Paris FC, and Inter Milan, while they will play at the grounds of Bayern Munich, Roma, and Manchester City.
How does the competition work?
In the first league phase, each team will play three matches at home and three away against two teams from each of the pots and will earn points in a general standings table. The first matchday—with times and order of matches yet to be determined—will be played on September 22 or 23, while the final duel of the league phase will be on Wednesday, December 16, in a unified matchday.
The first four teams will qualify directly for the quarter-finals and are guaranteed to play the return leg at home, while those from fifth to twelfth place (both inclusive) will play a preliminary knockout round between February 3 and 11. The last six teams will be eliminated from the competition.
The quarter-finals will be played between March 23 and April 1, while the semi-finals will be on the weekend of May 1 and 2 (the first leg) and that of the 8th and 9th of the same month (the return leg). Finally, the final, which will be played at the National Stadium of Poland, in Warsaw, will be on May 28, 29, or 30, with the day still to be confirmed.