A new season of the UEFA Champions League is beginning to take shape, with a batch of newcomers set to join regional heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid after a dramatic qualification journey.
Three teams booked their berths in the league phase on Tuesday as the second leg of the play-off round began, each of them reaching the competition proper for the first time in their history. Some matches were more dramatic than others – Norway’s Bodo/Glimt beat Austria’s Sturm Graz 6-2 on aggregate after a 5-0 first leg at home, while Cyprus’ Pafos and Kazakhstan’s Kairat clinched their Champions League spots with heroics in the second leg. Pafos took a 3-2 aggregate lead over Crvena Zvezda thanks to an 89th-minute goal from Jaja, while Kairat ousted Celtic on penalties after a 0-0 aggregate score, goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov making three saves during the shootout.
Four more spots will be decided on Wednesday, when the final round of qualification comes to a close. No team has more than a two-goal advantage from the first leg in, while two ties – Basel‘s against Copenhagen and Benfica‘s against Fenerbahce – are deadlocked before Wednesday’s matches.
The 38 teams that will make up the league phase participants will then find out their path to the Budapest’s Puskas Arena during Thursday’s draw.
How to watch the Champions League draw
- Date: Thursday, Aug. 28 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Location: Grimaldi Forum — Monaco
- Stream: Paramount+
Champions League qualified teams
- England: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur
- Italy: Napoli, Inter, Atalanta, Juventus
- Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, Villarreal
- Germany: Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund
- France: Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Monaco
- Netherlands: PSV, Ajax
- Portugal: Sporting Lisbon
- Turkiye: Galatsaray
- Czechia: Slavia Praha
- Greece: Olympiacos
- Kazakhstan: Kairat
- Norway: Bodo/Glimt
- Cyprus: Pafos
Play-off round final scores
- Kairat 0, Celtic 0 (teams tied 0-0 on aggregate; Kairat advances 3-2 on penalties)
- Pafos 1, Crvena Zvezda 1 (Pafos wins 3-2 on aggregate)
- Sturm Graz 2, Bodo/Glimt 1 (Bodo/Glimt wins 6-2 in aggregate)
Wednesday’s play-off round schedule
All matches will stream on Paramount+; all times U.S./Eastern
- Qarabag vs. Ferencvaros 12:45 p.m. (Qarabag lead 3-1 on aggregate)
- Benfica vs. Fenerbahce, 3 p.m. (teams tied 0-0 on aggregate)
- Copenhagen vs. Basel, 3 p.m. (teams tied 1-1 on aggregate)
- Club Brugge vs. Rangers, 3 p.m. (Club Brugge lead 3-1 on aggregate)
