Bizarre reason Liverpool CAN’T play against Real Madrid at Anfield in Champions League league phase this season

LIVERPOOL will not host Real Madrid in the league phase of the Champions League due to a little-known rule. The Reds are set to discover their rivals in the early stages of the tournament when the draw is made tomorrow. Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid will not head to Liverpool in the league phase Credit: Getty Andoni Iraola’s side cannot face the Spanish heavyweights at Anfield Credit: Getty But Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola, whose side got their season underway by rescuing a last-gasp point at Newcastle on Sunday, already knows Real Madrid cannot head to Anfield. The European heavyweights had league phase showdowns on Merseyside in each of the last two seasons. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! And Uefa introduced a rule to stop the same clash taking place in three consecutive campaigns. It means Trent Alexander-Arnold is not on course for another fiery return to Liverpool before the turn of the year. Paragraph 16.03 of last season’s Champions League regulations read: “Uefa administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the club competitions committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the Uefa executive committee. “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.” Liverpool sealed a narrow 1-0 win over Real Madrid last November, with Alexis Mac Allister grabbing a late winner. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS The Reds also notched a 2-0 victory when the Spanish giants headed to Anfield 12 months earlier. But Jude Bellingham and Co will not be handed another tough trip to Merseyside in the league phase. Uefa rules mean Liverpool and Real Madrid will not necessarily be kept apart in the draw. They could still face each other at the Bernabeu in the opening weeks of the Champions League. Alexis Mac Allister grabbed a late winner against Real Madrid last year Credit: Reuters Liverpool last visited Real Madrid in March 2023, when a place in the quarter-finals was up for grabs. Karim Benzema bagged the only goal in a 1-0 win for the LaLiga heavyweights. Comment now