Europa League opener: former Champions League winners clash, see ties | OneFootball

The draw for the first phase of the Europa League took place this Friday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Since last season, the league format has replaced the traditional group stage.

The clubs were drawn manually, and then a computer randomly decided the eight opponents for each team. The process continued until all 36 teams had their opponents defined.

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The traditional Porto got an easy draw. Although they will face Nottingham Forest – a Champions League-winning team and home to defender Murillo, formerly of Corinthians – the Portuguese club should not have difficulties in their other seven matches: Rangers (home), RB Salzburg (away), Red Star Belgrade (home), Viktoria Plzen (away), Nice (home), Utrecht (away), and Malmo (home).

Another highlight was Fenerbahçe, who dismissed José Mourinho on Friday morning. The Turkish team will face Aston Villa, Dinamo Zagreb, and Stuttgart in the first phase.

Roma, one of the favorites for the title, will not have an easy time in the first phase. The Italian side will face opponents who are regulars in the Champions League: Lille, Celtic, and Nice.

Although the matches have been set, the dates and times have not yet been released by UEFA. The detailed schedule will be announced this Saturday.

The first phase of the Europa League begins on September 24 and is scheduled to run until January 29, 2026.

The grand final, played as a single match, will take place at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 20, 2026.

Match schedule and expected dates

Round 1: September 24 and 25, 2025 Round 2: October 2, 2025 Round 3: October 23, 2025 Round 4: November 6, 2025 Round 5: November 27, 2025 Round 6: December 11, 2025 Round 7: January 22, 2026 Round 8: January 29, 2026

Round of 16 Playoffs: February 19 and 26, 2026 Round of 16: March 12 and 19, 2026 Quarterfinals: April 9 and 16, 2026 Semifinals: April 30 and May 7, 2026 Final: May 20, 2026.

See how the pots were

Pot 1: Roma (Italy), Porto (Portugal), Rangers (Scotland), Feyenoord (Netherlands), Lille (France), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Real Betis (Spain), Salzburg (Austria), and Aston Villa (England)

Pot 2: Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Braga (Portugal), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Lyon (France), PAOK (Greece), Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), Ferencváros (Hungary), Celtic (Scotland), and Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel)

Pot 3: Young Boys (Switzerland), Basel (Switzerland), Midtjylland (Denmark), Freiburg (Germany), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), Nottingham Forest (England), Sturm Graz (Austria), FCSB (Romania), and Nice (France)

Pot 4: Bologna (Italy), Celta de Vigo (Spain), Stuttgart (Germany), Panathinaikos (Greece), Malmö (Sweden), Go Ahead Eagles (Netherlands), Utrecht (Netherlands), Genk (Belgium), and Brann (Norway).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.