Champions League draw: Liverpool face Rangers while Man City’s Erling Haaland gets Dortmund reunion
Chelsea face AC Milan, Celtic will play holders Real Madrid, while Tottenham received a favourable draw
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool will face Rangers in an all-British clash in the Champions League group stages, as the draw also set up an immediate reunion between Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and his former side Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool and Rangers were also drawn with Ajax and Napoli in a tough Group A, while Manchester City will face Sevilla and Copenhagen as well as the Bundesliga side Dortmund.
But the English sides were handed a fair draw overall. Chelsea will play Italian champions AC Milan but their group also includes FC Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb - while Tottenham were drawn with Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille on their return to the Champions League under Antonio Conte.
Celtic will play the holders Real Madrid, along with RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk, while the group of death sees Barcelona take on Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, as Robert Lewandowski also faces a trip back to his former side.
Rangers qualified for the Champions League group stages for the first time in 10 years after defeating PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs on Wednesday, joining Celtic to ensure there were two Scottish sides in the competition for the first time since 2007.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side showed on their run to the Europa League final that they do not fear anyone at Ibrox, and will welcome the challenge of last season’s defeated finalists Liverpool as well as big European names in Ajax and Napoli – two sides Jurgen Klopp’s team have also met in recent years.
City’s draw is not easy, with Sevilla having an excellent European record and Borussia Dortmund the strongest available side in pot three. But it sets up the story of Haaland returning to Dortmund, the club where he scored 13 Champions League goals in as many appearances before his summer move to the Premier League.
Elsewhere, England’s Euro 2022-winning manager Sarina Wiegman won the Uefa women’s coach of the year award for leading the Lionesses to home glory this summer, with Carlo Ancelloti receiving the men’s award for guiding Real Madrid to their 14th Champions League title.
Karim Benzema beat Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne to the Uefa men’s player of the year award while Alexia Putellas won the women’s prize for the second year in a row, beating off competition from England forward and the Euro 2022 golden boot winner Beth Mead.
Full Champions League group stage draw
Group A
Ajax
Liverpool
Napoli
Rangers
Group B
Porto
Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Club Brugge
Group C
Bayern Munich
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Viktoria Plzen
Group D
Eintracht Frankfurt
Tottenham
Sporting Lisbon
Marseille
Group E
AC Milan
Chelsea
FC Salzburg
Dinamo Zagreb
Group F
Real Madrid
RB Leipzig
Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic
Group G
Manchester City
Sevilla
Borussia Dortmund
Copenhagen
Group H
PSG
Juventus
Benfica
Maccabi Haifa
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments