The annual draw of the UEFA Champions League took place on Thursday 26 August in Lisbon, Portugal.
The draw places 32 teams in 8 different groups of 4. The top 2 teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.
There are some mouth-watering ties on display in the group stages, with Paris Saint-Germain taking on Manchester City in Group A.
This match could ultimately be a matchup between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The latter has already moved to the French capital while the Premier League champions are in talks with Ronaldo’s representatives over a potential transfer.
Pep Guardiola’s City beat PSG in the semi-finals of last season’s Champions League on the way to losing the final to Chelsea in Porto.
Group A is completed by Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and the Belgian champions Club Brugge.
RB Leipzig will also be a difficult proposition, having knocked out Manchester United in the group stage last season.
Group B will see Luis Suarez return to Anfield to face Liverpool with Atletico Madrid.
Porto is also in the group as is AC Milan in a group that is no doubt the group of death.
It’s good to see AC Milan back in the UEFA Champions league or the first time since 2013/14 season.
Liverpool and Milan have a history in the UEFA Champions league. Liverpool beat Milan in the famous 2005 final in Istanbul, but the Italians gained revenge in Athens two years later.
😮 2005 final penalty shoot-out…
🔴 Jerzy Dudek seals Liverpool’s Champions League miracle in Istanbul against Milan 🏆@LFC | #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/4hV0KTL1Hb
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 26, 2021
Meanwhile, Barcelona will have to face a rerun of their nightmare 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2020 quarterfinals in Group E.
Manchester United and Villarreal face a rematch of last season’s UEFA Europa League decider in Group F.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be much happier with Manchester United’s chances of progression from Group F, having been knocked out in the group stage last season.
Defending champions Chelsea come up against Serie A giants Juventus, Russian club Zenit St Petersburg and Swedish side Malmo.
Player of the Season Awards
During the draw, the Player of the Season awards were also announced.
Chelsea’s Jorginho was named Men’s Player of the Season and Thomas Tuchel collected the Men’s Coach of the Season award ahead of Pep Guardiola and Roberto Mancini.
UEFA Champions League Full group stage draw:
Group A: Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge
Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, FC Porto, AC Milan
Group C: Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas
Group D: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol
Group E: Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kiev
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys
Group G: LOSC Lille, Sevilla, Red Bull Salzburg, Wolfsburg
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo FF
UEFA Champions League Key dates
UEFA have also confirmed the tournament will get underway in the second week of September.
Matchday 1: 14/15 September
Matchday 2: 28/29 September
Matchday 3: 19/20 October
Matchday 4: 2/3 November
Matchday 5: 23/24 November
Matchday 6: 7/8 December
Round of 16 draw: 13 December
Round of 16 first legs: 15/16/22/23 February
Round of 16 second legs: 8/9/15/16 March
Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 18 March
Quarter-final first legs: 5/6 April
Quarter-final second legs: 12/13 April
Semi-final first legs: 26/27 April
Semi-final second legs: 3/4 May
Final: 28 May