Benfica draw AC Milan and Torreense face Sunderland in Europa League phase

Monaco draw sets Portuguese fixtures

The draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase took place on Friday in Monaco, establishing the eight opponents for Portuguese representatives Benfica and Torreense. Benfica entered the draw as a top-seeded team after successfully navigating three preliminary rounds during the summer qualifiers. The Lisbon club earned its place in the main draw by defeating Swiss side St. Gallen, Scottish side Hearts, and Danish side Aarhus in succession, taking its scoring tally to 28 goals across all fixtures in the early 2026/27 campaign. Torreense entered the draw from pot 4 as the surprise Portuguese entrant, having qualified directly for European competition for the first time in club history. The Torres Vedras team earned that berth as the reigning champions of the Taça de Portugal, even while competing in Portugal's second division, the II Liga.

Benfica face AC Milan and Dutch opposition

Benfica's schedule features four matches at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon and four fixtures away from home across the continent. The headline away match takes the team to Italy to face AC Milan, creating a reunion with Ruben Amorim and forward Gonçalo Ramos against their former club. Beyond the trip to San Siro, Benfica will travel to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzen, to Cyprus to play Omonia, and to the Netherlands to meet NEC Nijmegen. In Lisbon, Benfica will host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Scottish side Celtic, Polish club Lech Poznan, and Greek side OFI Crete.

Torreense prepare for Leiria fixtures

Torreense, led by head coach Luís Tralhão, will stage all four of their home fixtures away from their traditional base in Torres Vedras. Due to stadium requirements, the second-tier Portuguese club will use the Estádio Municipal Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria as their adopted home for European nights. Torreense will welcome English club Sunderland, Greek side Olympiacos, Scottish club Celtic, and Armenian side Ararat-Armenia to Leiria. Celtic will make two separate journeys to Portuguese soil during the stage, playing Benfica in Lisbon and Torreense in Leiria. On the road, Torreense will visit Spain to play Real Sociedad, Hungary to face Ferencváros, Poland to take on Lech Poznan, and Norway to meet Lillestrom.

Competition format and match calendar

The 36-team single-table league format distributes each club eight distinct opponents without traditional home-and-away pairings against the same team. The top eight clubs at the conclusion of the phase will advance directly to the round of 16. Clubs finishing from 9th to 24th place will contest a two-legged playoff round for the remaining places in the knockout stages, while clubs placing from 25th to 36th will be eliminated from all European competition. League phase fixtures begin on 16 and 17 September 2026 with the opening round of matches. Subsequent fixtures will take place on 15 October, 22 October, 5 November, 26 November, and 10 December 2026, followed by the final two rounds on 21 January and 28 January 2027.