Barcelona won the match 2–0, with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, securing The Treble in the process.

In addition, both UEFA Cup finalists, Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk featured in the Champions League group stage.

Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus and BATE Borisov of Belarus were the first teams from their respective countries to qualify for the group stage.

The winners of each tie advanced to the group stage, while the losers were seeded into the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round.

The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August 2008 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, prior to the 2008 UEFA Super Cup the following day.

Based on paragraph 6.05 in the regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:[12] Zenit Saint Petersburg, BATE Borisov, CFR Cluj and Anorthosis Famagusta were making their debuts in the group stage.

[15] Bayern Munich defeated Sporting CP by 12–1 on aggregate in the first knockout round; the biggest two-leg win in Champions League era.

[17][18] Porto's 1–0 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the quarter-finals was the club's first ever home defeat to English opposition.

Chelsea were knocked out by Barcelona after a highly controversial performance by referee Tom Henning Øvrebø,[19] while Arsenal's 3–1 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals was the club's first defeat at the Emirates Stadium in a European competition.