Real Madrid handed Arsenal and Roma trips as Inter headlines Bernabéu Champions League draw

Real Madrid have been handed a Champions League league-phase draw defined by demanding away assignments, with trips to Arsenal and Roma accompanied by home meetings with Inter and RB Leipzig.

Madrid learned their eight opponents following Thursday’s draw in Monaco, with the club officially confirming that Inter, PSV, Leipzig and LASK will visit the Santiago Bernabéu. Their four away fixtures will take them to Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens.

The complete draw is:

Home — Santiago Bernabéu

- Inter - PSV - RB Leipzig - LASK

Away

- Arsenal - Roma - Shakhtar Donetsk - AEK Athens

The balance of the draw is immediately striking.

Inter represent Madrid’s most prominent home opponent, while Leipzig and PSV ensure the Bernabéu schedule carries competitive depth beyond the headline fixture. LASK, making their first appearance in the Champions League proper, complete the four home assignments.

The greater challenge appears to lie on the road.

A trip to Arsenal stands out as Madrid’s most demanding fixture on paper, while Roma provide another major test in a high-pressure away environment. Shakhtar bring extensive European experience, and AEK Athens add a fourth away match that removes any obvious guarantee of comfortable points outside Spain.

Under the league-phase format, Madrid face two opponents from each of the four seeding pots — one at home and one away — while clubs from the same domestic association cannot meet at this stage.

That structure means there is no traditional group to control over six games. Instead, Madrid’s position in the 36-team table will be shaped across eight different opponents, with consistency particularly important given the difficulty concentrated in their away schedule.

The top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th must enter the knockout play-offs.

For Madrid, that places additional value on maximising the four matches at the Bernabéu. Dropped points at home would increase the pressure on visits to Arsenal and Roma, where the margin for error is likely to be considerably smaller.

The exact sequence of the eight fixtures remains unknown. Real Madrid confirmed that UEFA will publish the match dates and kick-off times no later than Saturday, August 29.

Until then, the shape of Madrid’s European challenge is already clear: Inter provide the marquee night at the Bernabéu, but the defining part of the draw may come away from home, where Arsenal and Roma headline a four-game schedule built to test Madrid well before the knockout rounds begin.