RB Leipzig Champions League draw 2024: opponents and match schedule confirmed

Last year, we would have been talking about a tough group: RB Leipzig have been drawn against several very tough opponents in the new Champions League. The Saxons will face Liverpool FC, Inter Milan, Juventus Turin, Atlético Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Celtic Glasgow, Aston Villa and Sturm Graz in the new league phase. The matches will be played from September 17, with the exact fixtures to be announced by Saturday.

For the first time, the draw was made by a computer. After Leipzig had been drawn from pot one, world star Cristiano Ronaldo pressed a large premier class logo in Monaco - and the software did the rest.

Rose "completely unbiased"

Instead of playing in groups, all 36 clubs play in one league, each club against eight opponents. Leipzig will face Liverpool, Juve, Sporting and Villa in their own stadium. The two-time DFB Cup winners have to face Inter, Madrid, Celtic and Graz away from home. The league phase will continue into January. The top eight teams in the table at the end of the league phase qualify for the round of 16. The clubs in 9th to 24th place in the table will play in a new knockout round for progression.

Coach Marco Rose was still undecided about the new format. "I'm approaching it with an open mind. I want to watch it, I want to feel it. Then I can say something about how it was afterwards," said the 47-year-old. He has no feeling for "what it's like to play against eight different teams, four at home, four away, then there's a big table."

Barcelona was not the team of choice

The team of choice for Rose and players like Peter Gulacsi and Benjamin Henrichs was FC Barcelona with coach Hansi Flick. That was not yet fulfilled for Leipzig, but at least they avoided another reunion with Manchester City. "It doesn't necessarily have to be Pep again. Maybe not Real Madrid either," said Rose. The computer gave him the pleasure.

On the other hand, it's off to Glasgow to play Celtic FC. Leipzig have already played against the Scots in the Premier League and Europa League. There will be a quick reunion with Aston Villa. RB played against the club from Birmingham as part of their preparations in New York. André Silva and Lois Openda scored the goals in a 2-0 win at the beginning of August.