The UEFA Champions League group stage is about.
Thursday afternoon’s draw pitted a number of intriguing head-to-head matchups with Bayern Munich-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain-Juventus because the headliners. 2021 winners Chelsea was paired with defending Serie A winners AC Milan whereas Manchester Metropolis has been paired in opposition to Sevilla.
Bayern Munich rolled previous Barcelona throughout the 2020 quarterfinal spherical, thumping Barcelona 8-2 on the Camp Nou in a one-match showdown on account of COVID-19. Polish star Robert Lewandowski has since joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich, and will likely be wanting to get after his former membership.
PSG and Juventus will meet for the primary time within the UCL group stage after final squaring off in aggressive motion within the 1996 UEFA Tremendous Cup. Kylian Mbappe and Duhan Vlahovic will headline the attacking expertise for either side on this matchup whereas U.S. males’s nationwide crew midfielder Weston McKennie can also be among the many rising skills.
Erling Haaland will meet a well-recognized franchise within the group stage as Manchester Metropolis was paired in opposition to Haaland’s former membership, Borussia Dortmund. USMNT attacker Gio Reyna will get a second alternative to face his father Claudio’s former membership after assembly Man Metropolis within the 2020-21 knockout stage.
Christian Pulisic and Chelsea will tackle AC Milan within the headlining match in Group E, in what’s the first head-to-head assembly since 1999-2000. James Sands, Malik Tillman and Rangers will face stern checks in Group A after being paired with Liverpool, Napoli, and Ajax.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic will meet defending UCL winners Actual Madrid within the group stage, together with Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Leipzig.
The group stage kicks off on September 6-7.
Right here’s the entire Champions League teams:
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers.
Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Membership Brugge.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen.
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille.
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Pink Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb.
Group F: Actual Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic.
Group G: Manchester Metropolis, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, FC Kobenhaven.
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa.