Jamie Carragher 'makes his feelings clear' on new Champions League format as Liverpool face Real Madrid

The Champions League draw for the 2024/25 season has been completed and Jamie Carragher has reacted to the news.

The revamped league stage of Europe's top club competition will see 36 teams compete for a place in the last 16.

The top eight teams will advance straight to the next round while teams finishing in places nine to 25 will compete in a play-off round to determine the final 16 competitors.

Using the help of an AI supercomputer, UEFA conducted the draw in Monaco with a number of huge ties being drawn including Liverpool against Real Madrid while both Arsenal and Manchester City will face Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

Carragher - who lifted the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 - has seemingly made his feelings clear on the draw and the new format despite fans being left utterly confused while Gianluigi Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo helped decide the games for the qualifying teams.

The Sky Sports pundit reposted a message on X that claimed the new format would 'inject some new life' into the competition as a result of bigger games being played earlier in the competition.

X user Raj Chohan wrote: "Liverpool vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs Bayern, Man City vs PSG, Bayern vs PSG, Liverpool vs Leverkusen, Arsenal vs PSG, Inter vs Arsenal, Man City vs Inter.

"Heavyweight clashes between Europe’s best teams & players right from the start, so good. Will inject new life into the sport."

X

Liverpool have been handed arguably the most difficult draw out of the Premier League teams. They welcome Real Madrid to Anfield and also face AC Milan away from home. Xabi Alonso will also be returning to Anfield, not as manager of course after rejecting the chance to leave Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but as opposition manager with the reigning Bundesliga champions.

Aston Villa's first campaign back in the Champions League will see Unai Emery's side face two Bundesliga sides from pot one in Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig. The Villains will face fellow British side Celtic at home as well an away trip to Monaco.

Champions League draw in full (Premier League teams):

Liverpool - Real Madrid (H), RB Leipzig (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), AC Milan (A), Lille (H), PSV (A), Bologna (H), Girona (A)

Manchester City - Inter Milan (H), Paris Saint-Germain (A), Club Brugge (H), Juventus (A), Feyenoord (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Sparta Praha (H), Slovan Bratislava (A)

Arsenal - Paris Saint-Germain (H), Inter Milan (A), Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Atalanta (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Monaco (H), Girona (A)

Aston Villa - Bayern Munich (H), RB Leipzig (A), Juventus (H), Club Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Young Boys (A), Bologna (H), Monaco (A)