AEK Athens have been drawn against Real Madrid, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Como and LASK in the Champions League league phase. The Greek club learned their eight opponents during UEFA's official draw ceremony on Thursday.
AEK secured their place in the league phase following a 4-0 victory over Bulgarian side Levski Sofia on Wednesday. The win capped a successful qualifying campaign for the Athens club, sending them into the newly expanded 36-team main stage of Europe's premier competition.
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo attended the ceremony in Monaco as an official guest of UEFA. The former Champions League winner added star presence to the event as club representatives watched the automated draw unfold.
Opponents and key match prospects
The fixture list sets up high-profile European ties for AEK, who are also known in Greece as Enosi. Among their opponents are 15-time European champions Real Madrid of Spain and Premier League champions Manchester City of England.
AEK will also face German side Borussia Dortmund, who were also drawn against English club Arsenal in the same phase. The remaining fixtures will see the Greek side face Italian Serie A club AS Roma, Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, Turkish champions Galatasaray, Italian club Como, and Austrian Bundesliga outfit LASK Linz.
The draw also creates intrigue for Greek football supporters, setting up matchups involving AEK forward Christos Tzolis against fellow Greek players Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias across the competition.
Landscape of Greek clubs in Europe
AEK stand as the sole Greek club competing in the Champions League this season. Their qualification comes alongside a broader European campaign for teams from the Greek Super League across UEFA's three club competitions.
In the UEFA Europa League, Olympiacos and OFI Crete will represent Greece in the league phase. Olympiacos were placed in Pot 1 ahead of their draw, while OFI entered in Pot 4 following their own qualification success.
Panathinaikos secured their spot in the UEFA Conference League league phase, where they will enter in Pot 2. The club clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over Czech side Hradec Kralove, thanks to an extra-time penalty from Cyriel Dessers in the 125th minute.
PAOK missed out on European group football for the season. The Thessaloniki side were eliminated in August after suffering a 3-2 defeat against Norwegian team Brann in Norway.
