The UEFA Champions League is, without doubt, the greatest and toughest club competition there is. Winning the Champions League is regarded as the highest of honours in club football, such has been the mystique of the Champions League. Every European club wants to win the coveted trophy but only a few have managed to do that.
Clubs like Manchester City and PSG have spent billions in hopes of lifting the prestigious trophy but continue to fail every year. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, who have won it on 14 occasions, does it again despite having a decrepit squad.
This year, the Champions League will be even more chaotic with the FIFA World Cup falling right in between the club football season. Usually, the group stage goes on till December but due to the FIFA World Cup starting on 20th November. The Champions League has to cram the entirety of the group stage in just six weeks, starting from 6th September.
Here’s how the Champions League Groups look:
Last season’s finalists Liverpool have been handed an easy group with Napoli, Ajax and Rangers and they would be hopeful of qualifying into the next stage. The Spanish club Atletico Madrid have also found a simple path to the next round as they would have to clash with Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge and FC Porto.
Group C has come up as this year’s group of death as Barcelona have been paired with German giants Bayern Munich, Inter from Italy and Viktoria Plzen. London club, Tottenham, meanwhile, would be happy with their draw as they have been put in Group D with Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille and Sporting CP.
2021 Champions League winners, Chelsea would also see themselves qualifying from Group E as their opponents Dinamo Zagreb, Milan and Salzburg would pose little threat to their advance. In Group F, the Champions League giants Real Madrid will test the mettle of Celtic, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Manchester City, who have spent billions in hopes of winning the Champions League, would be happy to face Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen and Sevilla in Group G. French powerhouse PSG will also be content with their pairing with Juventus, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa in Group H.
Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich will be this year’s favourites but a disruptive Champions League due to the FIFA World Cup could bring out a very shocking winner this year.
