Champions 2025/26: Barcelona and Real Madrid, who had more 'luck' in the draw?

The draw for the matches of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 is now ready. A lottery that has left very peaceful paths for some teams, while for others it seems to have directly created a rather rugged path to reach the round of 16 of this competition.

At this point, comparisons regarding the paths that several teams must face become inevitable, especially the debate about the journey that both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will have to travel to reach the round of 16. Does one have an easier path than the other? For the moment, it seems so.

Real Madrid and their tough European rivals in Champions 2025/26

In principle, according to the rivals they must face, the most complicated path seems to have been assigned to Real Madrid. Xabi Alonso's team will have to face three European champions. One of them, Manchester City, is a rival that has almost become a tradition to meet in the tournament and that comes repowered this season after having reinforced with Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

Another one is Liverpool, a club that last season already gave the Merengues a lesson at Anfield with a 2-0, and that, for this year, has added several outstanding pieces to the sports project that was already well cohesive as one of the best in the world, among which Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké stand out. In addition to the Citizens and Reds, Olympique de Marseille serves as the third European champion and arrives at this competition as runner-up of Ligue 1.

Real Madrid's rivals for the league phase in the Champions League 2025/26

SL Benfica, Juventus, Monaco and more: Madrid's challenge in the league

Beyond this, Real Madrid was also assigned other tough nuts to crack, such as SL Benfica, a team that last season demonstrated in its matches against FC Barcelona that it has weapons to complicate any big team.

In turn, Juventus of Turin (another champion of the UEFA Champions League), although it seems to be in a low moment, can never be underestimated. In addition, we cannot ignore an impetuous AS Monaco, which also knows how to stand up to the big teams, as demonstrated in its debut in the last Champions League 24/25 by defeating Barça (2-1).

Not satisfied with that, Real Madrid will also have to face Kairat Almaty, a team that, a priori, does not present itself as a complicated rival from a sporting point of view, but that everyone preferred to avoid due to the long trip necessary to visit them. This Kazakh team is considered the most distant and exotic destination of the current edition of the Champions League. To the misfortune of the Merengues, it will be one of the teams they will have to travel to.

Finally, those from Chamartín will have to measure themselves against Olympiacos, considered one of the most accessible clubs in their fixture, classified as first in the Greek league. The team led by José Luis Mendilibar, by the way, will also be rivals of the Catalan team in this phase.

Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea: Barça's most demanding challenges

Now we have to talk about Barcelona. The Catalan team will also have to duel with two European champions. One of them is Paris Saint-Germain, probably the rival that nobody wanted in the draw, current monarch of the Champions League and all its domestic tournaments.

The French have one of the most feared offensives in the world, formed by Ousmane Dembélé, Doué and Kvaratskhelia, under the direction of one of the great coaches in the world, Luis Enrique. This team, by the way, has already known how to complicate the life of Barcelona in other not so distant opportunities.

Likewise, those of Hansi Flick will have to measure themselves against Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, one of the teams that best closed the 2024/25 season. The London team, current champion of the Club World Cup and the Conference League, has shown that when it crosses the path of the team from the Ciudad Condal at Stamford Bridge, as will happen in this edition, it becomes an almost impregnable rival.

More accessible path for the Blaugrana club against Club Brugge, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen

However, beyond that, although nothing is written in football, the path seems relatively placid for the Culés, who will have to face duels against Club Brugge (2nd Belgium), Slavia Prague (champion of the Czech Republic) and Copenhagen (champion of Denmark), teams that in the past have not represented a major sporting inconvenience for them, in addition to Olympiacos.

However, there are two clashes that do not go unnoticed. One, for its more symbolic meaning, is against Eintracht Frankfurt, which finished third in the Bundesliga and which in the past complicated the Culés, even eliminating them from the Europa League 2021/22. The other is Newcastle, which in the past has not been a major obstacle for Barcelona, but which arrives after being fifth in the Premier League and has players such as Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimarães, capable of making defeat very expensive.

So, with this comparison in mind, it is evident that the most complicated path to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League seems to correspond to Real Madrid. However, the journey of FC Barcelona is not a bed of roses either, and the Culés cannot rest on their laurels despite what appears to be a relatively placid journey.