UEFA Champions League 2025-26

The 2025-26 Champions League was the second run under the league phase, the format that replaced the group stage in 2024. Thirty-six clubs played eight matches each against eight different opponents, ranked in one table, with the top eight going straight to the round of 16 and the clubs finishing ninth to twenty-fourth playing off for the remaining places.

The change was designed to produce more matches between strong clubs earlier, and it did. It also produced a table that nobody could read at a glance, which is the trade the competition accepted.

Reading the results below

Every round from the play-offs to the semi-finals was played over two legs, home and away, with the final a single match at a neutral venue. That is why the round of 16 shows sixteen matches rather than eight: each pair of lines is one tie, and the aggregate decides it.

How the 2025-26 season was decided

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal on penalties in the final after 120 minutes finished level at 1-1. It was the second final under the expanded format and the first to go to a shootout since the competition restructured.

Arsenal had topped the league phase with 24 points from eight matches, the best record of the 36 clubs, which bought them a direct place in the round of 16 and avoided the two-legged play-off that took up an extra fortnight for everyone finishing ninth to twenty-fourth. Reaching the final and losing it on penalties is the outcome that format was designed to make possible: a club can dominate the league phase and still lose the trophy to one match.

What the league phase changed

The old competition put 32 clubs into eight groups of four, which produced a large number of dead fixtures by the fifth matchday. The league phase replaced that with 36 clubs in one table, each playing eight different opponents drawn from four seeding pots, four at home and four away.

The intended effect was more matches between strong clubs earlier, and it delivered that. The cost is a table nobody can read at a glance and a qualification picture that only resolves on the final matchday, when all 18 matches kick off simultaneously to stop clubs playing for a known result.

The other change clubs disliked: finishing twenty-fifth or lower means elimination from European competition entirely. Under the old format a third- placed group finisher dropped into the Europa League. That safety net is gone.

What comes next

The 2026-27 league phase is drawn in late August and starts in September, under the same 36-club format. This section covers the completed 2025-26 competition and stays as a record of it; the new season gets its own pages once the draw is made.

One thing to watch in the new season: England and Spain have been earning a fifth Champions League place through UEFA's performance ranking, awarded to the two countries whose clubs do best across a European season. It moves, and the leagues on this site show the places that are settled rather than the ones still being argued over.

Champions League: common questions

Who won the Champions League in 2025-26?

Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Arsenal on penalties in the final after the match finished 1-1 across 120 minutes. PSG won the shootout 4-3.

Are Champions League knockout ties played over two legs?

Every round from the play-offs to the semi-finals is two legs, home and away. The final is a single match at a neutral venue.

How many Champions League matches are played in a season?

189 in the 2025-26 edition: 144 in the league phase, then the play-offs and four knockout rounds.

When does the next Champions League start?

The 2026-27 league phase opens on 8 September 2026 and runs to 27 January 2027. It has its own pages: the <a href="/competitions/champions-league/">current table, fixtures and results</a> are kept separately from this record of 2025-26.

The leagues on this site are in season now. See competitions for live tables and fixtures.