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Mar 262022/23 Champions League draw reaction: Liverpool and Rangers to lock horns as Barcelona, Bayern & Inter make up group of death
All the key information about the draw for the group stage of the Champions League as Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs, Rangers and Celtic learn their opponents
The draw for the Champions League group stage has taken place in Istanbul in Turkey.
Manchester City legend and current Spurs academy coach Yaya Toure pulled the names out of the pots and gave us some thrilling fixtures to look forward to ahead of what is sure to be another enthralling campaign of Champions League football on BT Sport.
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Champions League groups 2022/23
Group A has one of the stand out ties in the group stages as Liverpool and Rangers will face each other in the Battle of Britain. Ajax and Napoli make up the group, so it’s going to be very hard to qualify from the group.
Liverpool have beaten Napoli and Ajax in recent Champions League campaigns, so will definitely fancy their chances of qualifying. Rangers will need to summon the spirit of last season’s Europa League campaign to get through this tricky group.
Both Porto and Atletico Madrid will be confident of progressing from Group B, which also features Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge.
Predicting the top two from Group C is harder. This year’s group of death features Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Barcelona (complete with former Bayern goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski), Serie A runners-up Inter Milan, and the unfortunate Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.
Tottenham will be fairly confident of qualifying from Group D. They missed out on some of Europe’s elite clubs by drawing last season's Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt from Pot A. Sporting Lisbon and Marseille will provide tricky tests, but it could’ve been a lot worse for Antonio Conte’s men.
Likewise Chelsea will fancy their chances of getting through to the knockout stages. They face Italian champions AC Milan, Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb.
Celtic face the current Champions League holders Real Madrid in Group F. RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk complete the group, but Celtic will feel that if they perform to their best they have a chance of getting through.
Manchester City landed in Group G and it’s a tough one. Sevilla have won the Europa League six times since the mid-2000s and will be looking to step up this time around in Europe’s top-tier competition, while Dortmund are always capable of turning it on. And there's the exciting prospect of a return to the Westfalenstadion for Erling Haaland. Copenhagen make up the group.
Group H will see PSG and Juventus meet each other in a group which also features Benfica and Maccabi Haifa. The French champions and the Italian giants will be confident of making it through to the knockout rounds.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | Porto | Bayern Munich | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Liverpool | Atletico Madrid | Barcelona | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Napoli | Bayer Leverkusen | Inter Milan | Sporting Lisbon |
| Rangers | Club Brugge | Viktoria Plzen | Marseille |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Milan | Real Madrid | Manchester City | PSG |
| Chelsea | RB Leipzig | Sevilla | Juventus |
| Salzburg | Shakhtar Donetsk | Borussia Dortmund | Benfica |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Celtic | Copenhagen | Maccabi Haifa |
What are the Champions League group stage dates?
Matchday 1: 6/7 September
Matchday 2: 13/14 September
Matchday 3: 4/5 October
Matchday 4: 11/12 October
Matchday 5: 25/26 October
Matchday 6: 1/2 November
Round of 16 draw: 7 November
