RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Liverpool can face Real Madrid in UCL league phase again despite UEFA rule on repeat fixtures
Liverpool and Real Madrid have become very familiar foes in recent years, with the teams facing each other no fewer than eight times over the past decade.
That includes two Champions League finals (both of which Los Blancos win) and a couple of two-legged knockout ties in the same competition which also saw the Spanish giants prevail.
However, the Reds have gained a semblance of revenge more recently, beating the 15-time European champions at Anfield in each of the past two seasons .
Can Liverpool and Real Madrid meet again this season?
The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League takes place on Thursday evening, and a UEFA competition ruling reduces the possibility of another clash between the two giants but doesn’t eliminate it completely.
As explained via liverpoolfc.com , Paragraph 16.03 of UEFA’s Champions League regulations stipulate that ‘if any teams that already played against each other in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in the 2024/25 season are again drawn against each other, with the same home team, in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in the 2025/26 season, those teams will not be able to be drawn against each other with the same home team in the 2026/27 season’ .
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Liverpool could face Real Madrid again – but not at Anfield
In short, this means that Real Madrid can’t face Liverpool at Anfield in the league phase for a third consecutive season. However, it is possible that the two teams could meet in that stage of the tournament at the Bernabeu, with the ruling only preventing a three-peat of a precise fixture.
Reds fans will probably be hoping that doesn’t materialise – incredibly, we’ve faced Los Blancos in each of our last five Champions League campaigns dating back to 2020/21.
Teams from the same national association are prevented from playing each other in the league phase entirely, so there won’t be any match-ups against Arsenal, Aston Villa or the Manchester clubs until at least the knockout play-off round, should it be required.
Liverpool will be aspiring to finish in the top eight of the league phase for the third year in a row since its implementation in 2024, which brings with it the benefit of skipping a two-legged play-off in February and having home advantage for the second leg in the round of 16 (while also avoiding another top-eight side).
On reflection, we’re just glad that the Reds are involved at all after the travails of last season, when for large parts it looked as though we’d miss out on Champions League qualification entirely and we’d have happily accepted a trip to the Bernabeu in the autumn.
Shortly after 5pm tomorrow, we’ll know whether or not we have to face Real Madrid yet again before the end of January, which this time would bring with it a head-to-head with a certain Jose Mourinho…
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