The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League knockout phase will begin on 11 February with the knockout phase play-offs and end on 31 May 2025 with the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, to decide the champions of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League.[1] A total of 24 teams will compete in the knockout phase, with 16 entering in the play-offs and 8 receiving a bye to the round of 16.[2]
Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
The knockout phase involves the top 24 teams that qualify from the league phase. The top 8 teams received a bye to the round of 16, while teams finishing in positions 9 to 24 entered the knockout phase play-offs.
Each tie in the knockout phase, apart from the final, is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level, then 30 minutes of extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score is still level at the end of extra time, the winners are decided by a penalty shoot-out. In the final, which is played as a single match, if the score is level at the end of normal time, extra time is played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score is still level.[2]
In the knockout phase, there is no country protection, with teams from the same association able to face each other in any round. Teams can also face opponents they played during the league phase.
The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:[2]
In the draw for the knockout phase play-offs, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 9–16 are seeded, and the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 17–24 are unseeded. The draw is split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams host the second leg.
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 1–8 are seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout phase play-offs are unseeded. Again, the draw is split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams host the second leg.
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the exact match pairings are predetermined based on the tournament bracket. A draw is conducted only to determine which team plays the first leg at home. A draw is also held to determine which semi-final winner is designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it is played at a neutral venue).
In the knockout phase, teams from the same or nearby cities are not scheduled to play at home on the same day or on consecutive days, due to logistics and crowd control.[2]: Art. 24.02 To avoid such scheduling conflict, several adjustments have been made: For the knockout rounds play-offs and the round of 16, if the two teams are drawn to play at home for the same leg, the home match of the team that has the lower league phase ranking was moved from either Tuesday or Wednesday from a regularly scheduled time to an earlier time slot, to a different day, and/or at an alternative venue without clashing any other competition. For the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the order of legs of the tie involving the team with the lowest priority is reversed from the original draw.[3][4]
The bracket structure for the knockout phase is partially fixed in advance using seeding, with a symmetrical pattern on both sides.[2] Teams' positions in the bracket are determined by their final standings in the league phase, ensuring that higher-ranked teams face lower-ranked opponents in earlier rounds. As a result, certain sets of teams, such as the top two from the league phase, cannot meet until the final.
The structure of each side of the bracket can be summarised as follows, with the exact pairings of the play-offs and round of 16 determined by a draw:[note 2]
† While the ties are predetermined, a draw will determine the order of the legs for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, as well as the administrative "home" team for the final.
The draw was split into four seeded and four unseeded pots, based on the predetermined pairings for the knockout phase. Teams were allocated based on their final position in the league phase. Teams in positions 9 to 16 were seeded (playing the second legs at home), while teams in positions 17 to 24 were unseeded. The draw began with the unseeded teams, allocating them all to a tie. Once completed, all the seeded teams were drawn into a tie as their opponents.[7]
The draw will be split into four seeded and four unseeded pots, based on the predetermined pairings for the knockout phase. Teams will be allocated based on their final position in the league phase. Teams in positions 1 to 8 will be seeded (playing the second legs at home), while the winners of the knockout phase play-offs will be unseeded. The draw will begin with the unseeded teams, allocating them all to a tie. Once completed, all the seeded teams will be drawn into a tie as their opponents.
The draw for the order of the quarter-final legs will be held on 21 February 2025, after the round of 16 draw.
The first legs will be played on 8 and 9 April, and the second legs will be played on 15 and 16 April 2025.
The draw for the order of the semi-final legs will be held on 21 February 2025, after the round of 16 and quarter-final draws.
The first legs will be played on 29 and 30 April, and the second legs will be played on 6 and 7 May 2025.
The final will be played on 31 May 2025 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A draw will be held on 21 February 2025 (after the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws) to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.
^CET (UTC+1) for dates up to 29 March 2025 (knockout phase play-offs and round of 16), and CEST (UTC+2) for dates thereafter (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final).
^The draws determine the exact play-off and round of 16 pairings for each side of the bracket, which will mirror each other. For example, if the team in 9th is drawn against 23rd in the play-offs, the team in 10th will be drawn against 24th on the other side of the bracket.
^Brest will play their home matches at Stade de Roudourou, Guingamp, instead of their regular stadium, Stade Francis-Le Blé, Brest, which did not meet UEFA requirements.[8]
Note: In 1991–92, the competition was still known as the European Cup, but is included as it was the first to use a group stage format. In that season and 1992–93, there was no knockout phase between the group stage and final.
Liverpool
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Bayer Leverkusen
Lille
PSV Eindhoven
Benfica
Celtic
Club Brugge
Winner R16–1[†]