Slot’s Liverpool, Ancelotti’s Real and Alonso’s Leverkusen: The lowdown on Milan’s UCL opponents

AC Milan found out their eight opponents for the first phase of the 2024-25 Champions League in during Thursday’s draw, and they will face two European powerhouses.

Milan have not been handed the easiest opponents from Pot 1 with reigning champions Real Madrid hosting the Rossoneri, whilst Liverpool will return to San Siro after visiting during the 2021-22 season.

Paulo Fonseca’s side must travel to face Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen which will not be easy, while there are also some intriguing fixtures against Slovan Bratislava, Dinamo Zagreb, Girona and Red Star Belgrade being drawn.

What should Milan expect from their eight opponents? We have provided a guide on each.

Liverpool

How did last season go? Finished third in the Premier League, reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, won the EFL Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The top scorer across all competitions was Mo Salah with 25 goals.

What has changed over the summer? Iconic manager Jurgen Klopp departed, replaced by Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot. Signings include Giorgi Mamardashvili (from Valencia) and Federico Chiesa (from Juventus). Exits include Thiago, Joel Matip and Fabio Carvalho.

Most recent starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz.

Real Madrid

How did last season go? Won LaLiga, reached the Round of 16 in the Copa del Rey, won the Supercopa de Espana and won the Champions League. Top scorer was Vinicius Junior, with 24 goals across all competitions.

What has changed over the summer? Carlo Ancelotti remains in charge, with the big signing of the summer being Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer from PSG. Endrick has also arrived. Exits include Nacho, Toni Kroos and Joselu.

Most recent starting XI: Courtois; Vasquez, Militao, Rudiger, F. Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Brahim, Modric; Vini Jr., Mbappe.

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Club Brugge

How did last season go? Finished fourth in the regular season in the league and won the Champions’ play-offs. Reached the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup and the UEFA Conference League. Top scorer was Igor Thiago (29 goals all competitions).

What has changed over the summer? Nicky Heyan is still the head coach after coming in in March. New signings include Ardon Jashari from FC Luzern, Zaid Romero from Estudiantes, Christos Tzolis from Fortuna Dusseldorf, Gustaf Nilsson from USG and Hugo Siquet from SC Freiburg. Big sale was Igor Thiago to Brentford for around €35m.

Most recent starting XI: Mignolet; De Cuyper, Mechele, Ordoñez, Seys; Onyedika, Vetlesen, Vanaken; Tzolis, Skov Olsen, Nilsson.

Bayer Leverkusen

How did last season go? A quite incredible campaign saw them win the Bundesliga, win the DFB-Pokal and reach the Europa League final where they lost to Atalanta. The top scorer across all competitions was Victor Boniface, who scored 21 times.

What has changed over the summer? Xabi Alonso was expected to leave but eventually decided to remain as head coach. Jeaniel Belocian (from Rennes), Aleix Garcia (from Girona), Martin Terrier (from Rennes) and Nordi Mukiele (from PSG) are the main signings. The big sales have been Sardar Azmoun, Adam Hlozek and Patrick Pentz.

Most recent starting XI: Kovář; Tapsoba, Tah, Belocian; Arthur, Andrich, Aleix García, Tella; Hofmann, Adli; Schick.

Crvena Zvezda

How did last season go? Won the Serbian SuperLiga and the Serbian Cup, but exited in the group stage of the Champions League. Changed head coach in December from Barak Bakhar to Vladan Milojevic. Cherif Ndiaye scored the most goals in total with 15.

What has changed over the summer? Signed Felicio Milson, Nasser Dyiga, Bruno Duarte, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Timi Max Elsnik and Young-woo Sell all for seven-figure fees (€1m+). Sold Osman Bukari, Marko Stamenic, Jean-Philippe Krasso and Srdjan Mijailovic for seven-figure fees too.

Most recent starting XI: Ilic; Mimovic, Djiga, Spajic, Seol; Hwang, Elsnik; Olayinka, Ivans, Milson; Duarte.

Dinamo Zagreb

How did last season go? Won the domestic treble: the HNL (league), the Croatian Cup and the Croatian Super Cup. Went out in the third round of Champions League qualifiers, reached the play-off round in the Europa League and the last 16 in the Europa League. Top scorer was Bruno Petkovic with 18 goals (all comps).

What has changed over the summer? Sergej Jakirovic remains head coach after taking over last August. Summer signings for a fee include Juan Cordoba (from Deportivo Cali), Marko Pjaca (from Rijeka), Lukas Kacavenda and Nikola Cavlina (both from Lokomotiva).

Most recent starting XI: Nevistic; Pierre-Gabriel, Theophile-Catherine, Mmbaee, Ogiwara; Misic; Pjaca, Suçiç, Baturina; Petkovic, Kulenovic.

Girona

How did last season go? Had a fairytale season under Michel, finishing third in LaLiga after looking like mounting a serious title push. Got to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. Top scorer: Artem Dovbyk (24 goals), now of Roma.

What has changed over the summer? Girona kept Michel as head coach and added Yasper Asprilla from Watford for €18m and Ladislav Krejci from Sparta Prague for €12m. Abel Ruiz, Bojan Miovski and Alejandro Frances also arrived for substantial fees. Aleix Garcia and Artem Dovbyk left for a combined €48.5m.

Most recent starting XI: Gazzaniga; Frances, Lopez, Blind, Gutierrez; Tsygankov, Herrera, Martin, Gil; Ruiz, Miovski.

Slovan Bratislava 

How did last season go? Coached by Vladimir Wiess (no, not the former Liverpool winger, but he plays for them), Slovan won the league and reached the quarter-finals of the Slovak Cup. They got to the third qualifying round of the Champions League, the play-off round of the Europa League and the knockout round play-offs in the Conference League. Top scorer honours were shared between David Strelec and Aleksandar Caprice (14 goals each).

What has changed over the summer? The only signings have been frees with Kyriakos Savvidis, Kevin Winner and Cesar Blackman joining. Exits include David Hrncar, Zan Medved and Jurij Medvedev have all left.

Most recent starting XI: Takac; Blackman, Kashia, Bajric, Winner; Szoke, Kucka; Barseghyan, Polic, Weiss; Strelec.