League Phase Of UEFA Champions League 2025 Concluded, Know How The Playoffs Draw Works

Which Teams have to play the two-legged playoffs?

The top eight teams – namely Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa – have earned a direct spot into the Round of 16.

Here’s how the draw system works for the teams ranked 9th-24th:

Teams are organized into 8 paired seeding bowls based on their league phase rankings:

• Bowl 1: Teams ranked 9 & 10 (seeded)
• Bowl 2: Teams ranked 11 & 12 (seeded)
• Bowl 3: Teams ranked 13 & 14 (seeded)
• Bowl 4: Teams ranked 15 & 16 (seeded)
• Bowl 5: Teams ranked 17 & 18 (unseeded)
• Bowl 6: Teams ranked 19 & 20 (unseeded)
• Bowl 7: Teams ranked 21 & 22 (unseeded)
• Bowl 8: Teams ranked 23 & 24 (unseeded)

Also Read: Cristiano Ronaldo Sets Unbeatable Record After Al-Nassr Win: Becomes The Only Footballer In World To…

The draw process

They start with the unseeded teams (ranks 17-24), beginning with the lowest-ranked pair:

• Draw the first team from a pair and place it on the silver side of the bracket
• The second team automatically goes to the blue side
• They work upward from ranks 23/24 to 17/18

Then they move to the seeded teams (ranks 9-16):

• Start with ranks 15/16 and follow the same process
• First team drawn goes to silver side, second to blue side
• Continue upward through the rankings
• Finish with teams ranked 9/10

Also Read: Louis Saha Champions Paul Pogba’s Move Back To Manchester United For Third Spell

This process creates the full playoff bracket that will determine which teams advance to join the top 8 in the Round of 16.