Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield in the league phase last season to end an agonising eight-game losing run against Los Blancos in what has been a heated feud between the two sides over the past several years.
The upcoming fixture at Anfield on Tuesday night will mark the 13th occasion Liverpool have clashed with Madrid in the competition in what should be an intense affair. However, it has now been revealed that the two clubs will not face each other next season.
This is because of a specific UEFA regulation, as the two clubs have been drawn against one another in two successive campaigns since the format changed. The regulation states:
"In accordance with paragraph 16.03 of the UEFA Champions League regulations, the UEFA Club Competitions Committee has determined an additional condition that may be applicable to the UEFA Champions League draw for the 2026/27 season, deciding that any individual fixture between the same two teams may not be repeated in the same competition with the same home team for three consecutive seasons.
"This means 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 this 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 (although, for the sake of clarity, those teams could still be drawn against each other at the venue of the other team)."
Both teams enter the game on the back of victory’s. Madrid grabbed a 4-0 win over Valencia on Saturday, whilst Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-0. Unless the two sides meet after the league phase, this will be their last clash for what could be years to come, in a game that should be cherished.