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Here we are, as the new 2024-2025 Champions League will take shape this late afternoon. The draw will take place in Nyon at 6:00 PM. The preliminary rounds have determined the last seven teams to qualify for the single round-robin stage (36 teams divided into four pots): joining Young Boys, Salzburg, and Sparta Prague, who advanced on Tuesday, are Dinamo Zagreb, Lille, Slovan Bratislava, and Red Star Belgrade.
There was no shortage of surprises in the return legs of the preliminary rounds. Lille, having won 2-0 in France in the first leg, was defeated 2-1 in the Czech Republic by Slavia Prague but still qualified thanks to the higher number of overall goals scored.
The upset came from Red Star Belgrade, who, in front of their home fans, overturned a 2-1 first-leg loss in Norway against Bodo/Glimt and won 2-0 against the Scandinavian side, eliminating them and sending them to the Europa League.
Dinamo Zagreb faced no issues after their 3-0 win in Croatia against Qarabag, securing another victory in Azerbaijan with a goal from former Juventus player Marko Pjaca and an own goal by Matheus Da Silva.
After several eliminations in the 2010-2011, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 Champions League preliminaries, Slovan Bratislava finally broke the curse and will participate in the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Slovak team, after a 1-1 draw in Denmark, triumphed 3-2 over Midtjylland, who drops to the Europa League, securing their place in the 36-team group stage.
POT 1: Manchester City, Inter, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Liverpool.
POT 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Milan, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica.
POT 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys, Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade.
POT 4: Girona, Monaco, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Bologna, Brest, Aston Villa, Slovan Bratislava, Malmo.
