During the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, the capital club, the reigning European champions, won 4–0 against Atalanta BC at the Parc des Princes, then 2–1 away at FC Barcelona, 7–2 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen before losing 1-2 at home to Bayern Munich, then beating Tottenham Hotspur FC 5-3 in Paris, drawing 0-0 with Athletic Club in Bilbao, and losing 1-2 away to Sporting Clube de Portugal. Finishing 11th in the table with 14 points from 8 matches, they then went on to knock out AS Monaco (3-2, 2-2) in the play-offs, Chelsea FC (5-2, 3-0) in the round of 16, and Liverpool FC (2-0, 2-0) in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Winners of the competition in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013 and 2020, the Munich side also started with three wins: 5-1 away at Pafos FC, 4-0 at home against Club Brugge KV and 2-1 in Paris, followed by a 1-3 defeat away at Arsenal FC and three further victories, 3-1 against Sporting Clube de Portugal in Germany, 2-0 against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, and 2-1 away at PSV Eindhoven, to finish in second place, seven points clear of the Rouge et Bleu, securing direct qualification for the round of 16 as a seeded team. A round in which FCB beat Atalanta BC twice (6-1, 4-1), before doing the same to Real Madrid CF (2-1, 4-3) in the quarter-finals.
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) - FC Bayern Munich (GER)
Atlético de Madrid (SPA) - Arsenal FC (ENG)
