After almost five months, 144 matches and 487 goals, including one from a goalkeeper, the Champions League’s awkwardly named league phase has finally reached its merciful conclusion.
Despite two thirds of the entrants qualifying, the first round of fixtures still saw some hefty continental figures drop out. Former champions in the shape of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven couldn’t live up to their lofty past, while reigning Serie A holders Napoli were consigned to the same fate as Marseille—elimination.
The top eight clubs—Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City—are already through to the round of 16, but they still need to pay attention to the knockout playoffs, which will spit out their opponents when March rolls around.
The knockout playoffs are where the teams which finished between ninth and 24th battle it out over two legs in February for a spot in the round of 16. It is a star-studded roll call of participants, headlined by defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, the most successful club in the competition’s history, Real Madrid, along with the likes of Inter, Newcastle United, Juventus and Atlético Madrid.
Here’s a full round of all these crucial fixtures and how they impact the teams already through to the last 16.
2025–26 Champions League Knockout Playoff Round First Legs
It just had to be, didn’t it? It was Anatoliy Trubin’s scarcely conceivable 98th-minute header against Real Madrid in the final round of league phase fixtures which not only earned Benfica passage to the playoffs, but dragged the Spanish giants out of the top eight. Now the pair will go head-to-head over two narrative-laden legs.
José Mourinho has never taken a team back to the Bernabéu since he parted ways with the capital club under a familiar toxic cloud in 2013. Have already gotten the better of his past employers once at the Estádio da Luz, the Special One will be hoping for another special night in February.
| Side of the Draw | Home Team | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Monaco | PSG |
| Silver | Galatasaray | Juventus |
| Silver | Benfica | Real Madrid |
| Silver | Borussia Dortmund | Atalanta |
| Blue | Qarabağ | Newcastle |
| Blue | Club Brugge | Atlético Madrid |
| Blue | Bodø/Glimt | Inter |
| Blue | Olympiacos | Bayer Leverkusen |
First legs will be played on either Feb. 17 or Feb. 18. All dates and kickoff times will be confirmed by UEFA at a later time.
2025–26 Champions League Knockout Playoff Round Second Legs
For the second year in a row, PSG have unexpectedly dropped into the knockout playoffs. For the second year in a row, they will face a familiar foe. Luis Enrique’s side swept to a laughable 10–0 aggregate win over Brest in 2025 but may find it harder to rack up double digits against Monaco.
The principality outfit have already beaten PSG this season, battling to a 1–0 win in November despite Thilo Kehrer’s second-half red card. Paul Pogba oddly took that unmistakable high point in a season of uncertainty for the club to tell Monaco fans that they should already be looking towards the next fixture. Those comments were not universally popular, especially as Monaco were swiftly beaten by Brest six days later.
A win over the unmistakable giants of French football should leave everyone, even Pogba, happy.
| Side of the Draw | Home Team | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | PSG | Monaco |
| Silver | Juventus | Galatasaray |
| Silver | Real Madrid | Benfica |
| Silver | Atalanta | Borussia Dortmund |
| Blue | Newcastle | Qarabağ |
| Blue | Atlético Madrid | Club Brugge |
| Blue | Inter | Bodø/Glimt |
| Blue | Bayer Leverkusen | Olympiacos |
First legs will be played on either Feb. 24 or Feb. 25. All dates and kickoff times will be confirmed by UEFA at a later time.
Round of 16 Matchups
The round of 16 is decided by a second semi-perfunctory draw on Feb. 27 when the winner of each knockout playoff is paired with one of two potential opponents.
The midweeks of March 10/11 and March 17/18 will be the dates for this year’s round of 16 ties. As a reward for their automatic qualification, the teams which qualified for the competition’s top eight will have home advantage in the second leg.
| Round of 16 Teams | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Barcelona or Chelsea | Winner of PSG vs. Monaco or Newcastle vs. Qarabağ |
| Liverpool or Tottenham | Winner of Juventus vs. Galatasaray or Atlético Madrid vs. Club Brugge |
| Sporting CP or Man City | Winner of Real Madrid vs. Benfica or Inter vs. Bodø/Glimt |
| Arsenal or Bayern Munich | Winner of Atalanta vs. Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos |
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS AND PLAYER RATINGS
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- 2025–26 Champions League Knockout Playoff Draw—As it Happened
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025–26 Champions League Knockout Playoff Draw: Full List of Matches.
