Champions League draw LIVE: Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and Tottenham learn group stage opponents
The Champions League draw revealed the 2022/23 fixtures and groups including Erling Haaland returning to Borussia Dortmund with Man City
Liverpool will face Rangers 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 Group A, while Manchester City will face Sevilla and Copenhagen as well as the Bundesliga side.
Chelsea will play Italian champions AC Milan, FC Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb while Tottenham Hotspur also received a favourable draw, with Antonio Conte’s side being grouped with Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille.
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.
Follow live updates from the Champions League draw, below:
WATCH: Champions League to use semi-automated offside this season
Semi-automated offside technology will be used in the Champions League, having been introduced for the UEFA Super Cup match between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this month.
The system, which uses special cameras that will track body points on players, will be used for Champions League group stage.
“UEFA is constantly looking for new technological solutions to improve the game and support the work of the referees,” UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer Roberto Rosetti said in a statement.
“This innovative system will allow Video Assistant Referee (VAR) teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, enhancing the flow of the game and the consistency of the decisions.”
UEFA said the new system will operate with special cameras that track 29 different body points per player, with a total of 188 tests performed since 2020, including all games from last season’s Champions League, the knockout stage of the Women’s Champions League and the women’s Euros.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst proud after Rangers reach Champions League
Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed the pride he was feeling after Rangers beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 to reach the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
After a 2-2 draw against the Dutch side in the first leg of the play-off at Ibrox last week, another absorbing encounter was settled in the Philips Stadium by Antonio Colak’s tap-in on the hour mark for a 3-2 aggregate win.
Rangers will take their place in today’s Champions League group-stage draw along with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
The Rangers boss said: “It is a very proud moment. I know what it means for the fans, for the club, to be playing in the highest level in Europe, competing with the best teams.
“I think it is a proud moment for all of us.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst proud after Rangers reach Champions League
Antonio Colak netted the winner in Holland as Rangers progressed to Thursday’s group stage draw
Champions League draw comes as Super League court case hangs over European game
As officials of Europe’s great clubs gather in Istanbul for the Champions League draw, it will be the first time many have been together in the same room since before Covid, writes Miguel Delaney.
There will be some tension and sizing up. The biggest issues by far will be football politics, rather than any old-fashioned trepidation about who they might face in the draw. That is because of a discussion that is now beyond old-fashioned, which is that the competition’s group stage is boring and predictable. It is such a fait accompli it is set to be finished altogether, since this is the penultimate season of the old round-robin format. Enjoy the pompous pageantry of the draw while you can.
The controversial “Swiss system” changes won’t actually solve much, though. You only have to glance across the continent to see how the group stage just follows a growing trend. Predictability is the way of European football now.
Read Miguel’s full piece here:
Champions League draw comes as Super League court case hangs over European game
European football is more imbalanced and fractured than ever as the giants of the game meet in Istanbul for the group stage draw
Who is in Pot 4?
It has been five years without a Scottish representative in the Champions League group stage and an even longer, 15-year wait, since two took part in the same season. That wait is over though, as Rangers and Celtic make an appearance in Pot 4.
Recent European success, combined with Russia’s banishment, has seen Scotland’s UEFA coefficient rise enough that Celtic qualified automatically for the group stage by winning the Scottish Premiership, while Rangers joined them after battling past Union Saint-Gilloise and then PSV in qualification.
Ligue 1’s Marseille are also in the lowest pot but the rest of the teams come from some of the smaller European leagues as Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, Denmark’s FC Copenhagen and Belgium’s Club Brugge are among the representatives.
Pot 4: Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Marseille, Copenhagen, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa
Who is in Pot 3?
Pot 3 contains a mixture of European upstarts and more established names as names such as Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Benfica hold the flame for the latter.
Sporting Lisbon are the second Portuguese team in this pot, Napoli the second Italians and Bayer Leverkusen the second Germans, while Red Bull Salzburg’s production line of talent will get a chance to shine on the biggest stage and Shakhtar Donetsk’s presence is both hugely emotional and important - given the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Pot 3: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shaktar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Benfica, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen
Who is in Pot 2?
Pot 2 also includes a number of huge European names, including a strong Premier League contingent. In fact, six of the eight teams are either English or Spanish and there are no weak sides in this pot.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs are the three Premier League representatives, with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla providing the LaLiga flavour. Clubs from the same league can’t be drawn in the same group, meaning Man City will avoid the former three teams and Real Madrid the three latter.
Juventus had to battle to finish in the top four of Serie A last season and they are joined by the team that did likewise in the Bundesliga - RB Leipzig.
Pot 2: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham
Who is in Pot 1?
Unsurprisingly, Pot 1 in today’s draw is absolutely stacked as it contains a number of European heavyweights. Reigning champions Real Madrid head the pot and they’re joined by Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
Manchester City are the sole English representative in Pot 1, while powerhouses including AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain are also in the pot
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Man City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax
How does the Champions League group stage draw work?
Clubs have been split into four pots, with one team from each making up a group.
Pot 1 is made up of holders Real Madrid, the other champions of Europe’s biggest leagues and Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt. The other pots are based on how well teams have done in Europe over the past five seasons.
The draw is taking place today at 5pm BST in Istanbul, Turkey - host city of this season’s Champions League final.
Rangers hold nerve to beat PSV and reach Champions League group stage
Antonio Colak scored the winner as Rangers beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 to reach the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
After a 2-2 draw against the Dutch side in the first leg of the play-off at Ibrox last week, another absorbing encounter was played out in the Philips Stadium.
In a game that swung to and fro at times, Colak tapped into the empty net on the hour mark for his fifth goal in six matches before the Light Blues held out for a 3-2 aggregate win.
The Croatia striker had scored twice to help loan side Malmo knock Rangers out of the Champions League qualifiers last season but he repaid his current employers and then some following his move from PAOK as his side made it to the promised land for the first time since 2010.
Rangers and Celtic will be in today’s Champions League draw for the first time since 2007/08.
Rangers hold nerve to beat PSV and reach Champions League group stage
Rangers and Celtic will be in Thursday’s Champions League draw for the first time since 2007/08
What time is the Champions League draw today?
Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham await their fate in today’s Champions League group stage draw.
European football eagerly awaits the final touches to the calendar with the prestigious event in Istanbul, which will host this year’s final.
Liverpool were beaten in last season’s final by a Real Madrid side inspired by Karim Benzema, while Brazilian Vinicius Jr struck the winner in Paris. But Jurgen Klopp will be bullish about his side’s chances this year having seen their character to rebound after tough final defeats in the past. Tottenham return to the top table of European football, with Antonio Conte eager to prove his worth in a competition he has struggled with in the past.
Elsewhere, the Champions League draw will also feature both Rangers and Celtic for the first time since 2007 after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side held their nerve to defeat PSV in the final play-off round last night.
Here’s all you need to know about the draw, including what teams will play this season and which pots they have been designated in.
What time is the Champions League draw today?
What time is the Champions League draw today? Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham poised to discover 2022/23 opponents
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments