Real Madrid Wait For Liverpool And Man City, Arsenal Welcome Harry Kane

Real Madrid are ready to play Manchester City and Liverpool in the Champions League. (X/@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid Director Emiliano Butragueno is waiting for opponents from Pot 1, Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League preliminary phase. Meanwhile, Arsenal welcomed former Tottenham Hotspur rival club Harry Kane who is now defending Bayern Munich.

The new format of the Champions League allows the leading teams to meet each other. The team in Pot 1 will still meet with other teams at Pot as long as they are not from one league.

Spanish La Liga elite team Real Madrid can meet Liverpool from the English Premier League or French Liue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain but avoid meeting with Barcelona who are the defending champions of La Liga.

And, as expected, Madrid will finally get a draw against Liverpool and Manchester City. Butragueno stated firmly that Los Merengues was ready to play Europe's highest caste competition.

"We know this competition is very difficult and we are facing opponents who are at a high level. The match will be tight and we have to prepare well. We have hopes in the competition because coach Xabi Alonso has a squad with good players. We believe this team can meet fan expectations," Butragueno said as quoted by Managing Madrid.

"We are back against Man City. This match is one of the rivals in Europe. We have also faced Liverpool a lot. Both teams already know each other and they are at the top level. This will be a difficult match and we have to play at the highest level to beat them," said Butragueno, who gave Madrid the La Liga six times but never won the Champions League trophy.

When facing Man City, the 15-time Lia Champions champion acted as host. But Los Merengues had to visit Liverpool headquarters and the weak Kairat Almaty team from Azerbaijan. Madrid will travel for 12 hours to face their opponents.

"We have never faced them. We will also travel long distances during away matches. This is certainly a factor that must be taken into account. Every match is important and all opponents have high motivation," he said again.

Arsenal Reunion With Harry Kane

Meanwhile, former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott welcomed the match against Bayern which made the North London club reunite with Harry Kane.

The England captain built an emotional rivalry while still defending Tottenham Hotspur before finally moving to Bayern.

"All the games are very interesting. I highlight Bayern and wait for Harry Kane to return to England to play at the Emirates. He is familiar with our place. I am sure he is enthusiastic about this match," said Walcott, Arsenal's ambassador and director at Sky Sports.

Arsenal not only face Bayern who are tough opponents but also Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Athletlic Bilbao, Slavia Prague, Club Brugge and Kairat Almaty. Only the Gunners don't need to travel far to Azerbaijan because Kairat Almaty is visiting the Emirates.

"All matches are very interesting and Arsenal want to go further than last year. I feel this year the team is more complete and has depth. I'm glad the team doesn't need to travel far either," Walcott said.

"In my opinion, the changes made by Arsenal will provide results. The recruitment of Viktor Gyokeres completes the final puzzle," he said.

Inter Milan, who are in the spotlight after losing 5-0 in the 2025 final match, will rise. Inter Vice President Javier Zanetti stated that the failure in the final was a motivation for Inter when they returned to the Champions League.

Inter, who are now being handled by Cristian Chivu who replaces Simone Inzaghi, will host Arsenal, Liverpool, Slavia Prague and Kairat Almaty. Furthermore, I Nerazzurri played an away match against Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam and Union SG.

"We started the fight enthusiastically with the new coaches and new trips," said Zanetti.

"Success reaching the final is like a big achievement even though it ended in a disappointing manner. But football taught us to come back with a new target. Even in this new season we want to go as far as possible," he said.