Friday morning, UEFA conducted the draw for the Champion League's new playoff phase, which essentially adds one more round to the previous format's knockout stage. 16 teams were sorted, with pairings influenced (but not entirely determined) by order of finish in the group stage.

The group stage of the UEFA Champions League officially came to a close on Wednesday and the standings are now final. Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal,

Instead of going straight into the traditional round of 16, the competition will feature a knockout phase play-off. In this stage, the teams that finished ninth to 16th in the group phase will face off against those that placed 17th to 24th, with each tie played over two legs.