Real Madrid now know their eight opponents for the league phase of the Champions League. Reunions, old rivalries and several surprising statistics already surround the Spanish giants’ European campaign.
The new Champions League campaign will begin on September 8, with every team playing eight matches during the league phase. Real Madrid will host four opponents at the Santiago Bernabéu and face four others away from home before the final standings determine the next stage of their European journey.
Speaking in Monaco after the draw, Emilio Butragueño immediately underlined the level of difficulty awaiting Real Madrid.
“We are talking about the Champions League,” the club’s Director of Institutional Relations said, stressing that “every match is a challenge and requires a performance at the highest level.”
The former Madrid player also highlighted the importance of making a strong start, with Real hoping to finish among the top eight teams and qualify directly for the round of 16.
“It is essential to start collecting points from the opening matches,” Butragueño explained.
And several fascinating storylines are already emerging from the draw.
Arsenal, Real Madrid’s European bogey team
Perhaps the most striking statistic concerns Arsenal.
Real Madrid and the Gunners have faced each other four times in the Champions League, and remarkably, the Spanish giants have never managed to beat the English side.
Arsenal have won three of those meetings, with the other ending in a draw. Real Madrid have scored only once while conceding six goals.
Their most recent meetings remain fresh in the memory. In the 2024-25 Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal produced a dominant 3-0 victory in London before winning again, 2-1, at the Bernabéu.
The upcoming trip to the Emirates Stadium therefore represents another opportunity for Real Madrid to finally end one of the strangest winless records in their prestigious European history.
Inter Milan, an emotional reunion for Mourinho
The meeting with Inter Milan will inevitably be special for José Mourinho.
The Portuguese coach will face the club with which he achieved one of the greatest accomplishments of his managerial career, winning an historic treble in 2010, including the Champions League.
Denzel Dumfries will also come up against his former club. The Dutch international spent several seasons at Inter, becoming an important figure on the right flank before eventually joining Real Madrid.
Beyond those reunions, Real Madrid against Inter is a classic fixture in European football.
The two clubs have met 13 times in Europe’s elite competition, with Madrid recording seven victories, Inter five and one match ending in a draw.
Inter famously defeated Real Madrid in the 1964 European Cup final, while the two sides also met several times during the 1960s and 1980s.
🚨🚨 OFFICIEL ! LES ADVERSAIRES DU REAL MADRID 🇪🇸 POUR LA PHASE DE LIGUE DE LA LDC !!! 🤍
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) August 27, 2026
🏠 INTER MILAN 🇮🇹
🏠 PSV EINDHOVEN 🇳🇱
🏠 LEIPZIG 🇩🇪
🏠 LASK LINZ 🇦🇹
✈️ ARSENAL 🏴
✈️ AS ROME 🇮🇹
✈️ SHAKHTAR DONETSK 🇺🇦
✈️ AEK ATHÈNES 🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/kZ9s4CaRRb
More recently, however, Madrid have dominated the fixture, winning four consecutive meetings between 2020 and 2022.
Leipzig, a growing European rivalry
RB Leipzig are a much more recent opponent, but the two clubs have already built a small European history.
The match will also be particularly meaningful for Yan Diomandé, who will face Leipzig shortly after leaving the German club to join Real Madrid.
Since 2022, the two teams have met four times in the Champions League. Real Madrid have won twice, Leipzig once, with the other match ending in a draw.
Leipzig’s only victory came in the 2022-23 group stage, when they defeated Madrid 3-2 in Germany.
They met again in the 2024 round of 16. Madrid won 1-0 in Leipzig thanks to Brahim Díaz before drawing 1-1 at the Bernabéu to secure qualification.
PSV, almost four decades later
The meeting with PSV Eindhoven will bring back much older memories.
Real Madrid and PSV have not faced each other since 1989, when they met in the European Cup quarter-finals.
Madrid progressed after a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands and a 2-1 extra-time victory at the Bernabéu.
However, PSV had eliminated Real Madrid the previous season, in the 1987-88 semi-finals, before going on to win the European Cup.
Nearly four decades later, the two historic clubs will finally meet again.
AEK Athens, another unusual record
Arsenal are not the only opponent in the draw that Real Madrid have never beaten in the Champions League.
AEK Athens are also unbeaten against the Spanish giants.
The clubs have met only twice, during the 2002-03 group stage, with both games ending in draws: 3-3 in Madrid and 2-2 in Athens.
Five goals were scored by each side across the two matches, meaning Real Madrid’s trip to Greece will offer another opportunity to erase an unusual statistic from their European record.
Roma, Shakhtar and LASK complete the draw
Real Madrid’s three other opponents are Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and LASK.
Roma will provide another emotional reunion for Mourinho, who previously coached the Italian club.
Shakhtar, meanwhile, have become a familiar opponent for Madrid following several recent Champions League encounters. Real will travel to London to face the Ukrainian side, who continue to play European home matches outside Ukraine because of the war.
Finally, LASK will provide something completely new.
Real Madrid and the Austrian club have never faced each other in European competition, making their upcoming meeting the only entirely new fixture among Madrid’s eight Champions League opponents.
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