GOAL brings you a complete round-by-round breakdown of the new knockout phase of the Champions League.
The revamped Champions League is now into the knockout stage and it promises to be an exciting finale.
As well as an expanded league phase,there is an extra round in the knockout phase,with a playoff to determine which eight teams join the top eight in the last 16. After that comes the quarter-finals,the semi-finals and the winner-takes-all final.
Here, GOAL brings you a breakdown of every round on the road to the final in Munich this coming May.
Champions League knockout phase playoffs
The draw for the knockout stage playoffs was held on January 31,2025.
Ties were played across two legs,with the first legs played on for February 11 and 12,and the second legs taking place a week later on February 18 and 19.
Real Madrid notably knocked Manchester City out of the competition, with a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick condemning Pep Guardiola’s side to elimination.Celtic were knocked out by Bayern Munich in a closely fought tie,while Borussia Dortmund overcame Sporting with a 3-0 aggregate victory.
The ejection of Atalanta at the hands of Club Brugge was one of the surprises of the round,with the reigning Europa League winners suffering a 5-2 aggregate defeat. Meanwhile,Paris Saint-Germain made light work of their compatriots Brest,beating them 10-0 over the two legs.
Elsewhere, continental heavyweights AC Milan were put out by Dutch outfit Feyenoord,Benfica beat Monaco and PSV knocked out Juventus.The draw for the round of 16 took place on February 21,2025,following the conclusion of the playoffs.You can see the draw above.
Ties will be two-legged affairs, with first legs on March 4/5 and second legs on March 11/12.
