Following Thursday’s Champions League group-stage draw, Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland will quickly face off against their old teammates. Lewandowski will return to familiar surroundings after recently moving to Camp Nou, as Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who between them have won 11 Champions League titles, were drawn in a difficult Group C with Inter.
Haaland will also face Borussia Dortmund, which he left to join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, in another reunion. According to DPA, they are in Group G with Sevilla and Copenhagen. Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus will square off in Group H in yet another heavyweight matchup.
Chelsea, the most recent champion in England, will have to play Milan; Liverpool will travel to Napoli; and Tottenham will play Europa League champion Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bring it on! #UCL || #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/z9IBs4zdUA
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2022
On paper, the draws for both Madrid teams are favourable. Real Madrid will face RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Celtic, while Atletico Madrid will face Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and Club Brugge.
Following is the draw for the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League group stage, according to Xinhua:
Group A: Ajax (Netherlands), Liverpool (England), Napoli (Italy), Rangers (Scotland);
Group B: FC Porto (Portugal), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium);
Group C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic);
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Sporting (Portugal), Marseille (France);
Group E: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia);
Group F: Real Madrid (Spain), RB Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Celtic (Scotland);
Group G: Manchester City (England), Sevilla (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), FC Copenhagen (Denmark);
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Maccabi Haifa (Israel).
Dates:
Matchday 1: September 6-7; Matchday 2: September 13-14; Matchday 3: October 4-5; Matchday 4: October 11-12; Matchday 5: October 25-26; Matchday 6: November 1-2.
(Inputs from IANS)