Rangers will face Liverpool on their return to the Champions League for the primary time in 12 years after being drawn in opposition to Jürgen Klopp’s aspect in Group A, whereas Erling Haaland is about to play former membership Borussia Dortmund for Manchester Metropolis.
Having battled by means of two qualifying rounds following their defeat in final season’s Europa League ultimate, the reward for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s aspect is a tough group that additionally accommodates Dutch champions Ajax, and Napoli, who’re main the early Serie A standings after two matches.
But it might have been even worse for Rangers had former Bayern Munich and Turkey midfielder Hamit Altintop drawn them in a bunch that contained Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Internazionale. As an alternative, Czech champions Viktoria Plzen have the unenviable process of looking for a well past three sides who’ve gained the competitors 14 instances between them.
Liverpool have by no means earlier than performed Rangers in a aggressive match, though they’ve met in pleasant video games with the newest in October 2011 when the Scottish aspect gained 1-0 at Ibrox.
Klopp was in little doubt concerning the process forward. He mentioned: “The very first thing to say is this can be a correct, correct problem. The distinction this 12 months is that the group stage shall be shorter than standard, so we should be prepared not only for the standard of the opposition but in addition for the completely different calls for and rhythms.
“It was solely a few years again that we performed two actually powerful matches in opposition to Ajax and we get drawn in opposition to Napoli fairly commonly, so we all know fairly a bit about each of them and so they know fairly a bit about us. I do know there can even be some new classes to be discovered, although.
“Rangers are a brand new opponent for us however we all know them, too. Their story over the previous couple of years has been actually fascinating and so they did rather well to qualify for the group stage, given the groups they had been up in opposition to within the qualifying matches.”
Elsewhere, Tottenham will fancy their possibilities of progressing of their first Champions League marketing campaign since 2019/20 after being drawn with Eintracht Frankfurt — who beat Rangers within the Europa League ultimate to qualify for this season’s competitors — Sporting and Marseille in Group D.
“We now have some very powerful video games however everybody is aware of one another in European soccer now and we’ve bought a workforce that I consider may very well be a drive to be reckoned with,” mentioned Tottenham ambassador and former captain Gary Mabbutt.
“We’re taking part in in opposition to the elite in Europe and we’re very a lot wanting ahead to it.”
Chelsea will face Milan, FC Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb in what additionally seems a welcome draw for Thomas Tuchel’s workforce in Group E, whereas the Norway striker Haaland shall be reunited together with his former Borussia Dortmund teammates following his £53m summer time transfer after Metropolis had been positioned with the German aspect, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen in Group G.
Fast Information
Champions League group stage draw and dates
Present
Group A Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B Porto, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Brugge
Group C Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Internazionale, Viktoria Plzen
Group D Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting, Marseille
Group E Milan, Chelsea, RB Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F Actual Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
Group G Manchester Metropolis, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen
Group H Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
Matchday one 6-7 September
Matchday two 13-14 September
Matchday three 4-5 October
Matchday 4 11-12 October
Matchday 5 25-26 October
Matchday six 1-2 November
“It is going to be a particular recreation, particularly for Erling Haaland and Ilkay Gündogan,” mentioned Metropolis’s chief government Ferran Soriano.
“I feel each will get pleasure from it. It’s a incredible stadium — the final time we went there it was empty due to Covid so it’s going to really be an awesome expertise for our followers, each in Dortmund and in Manchester.”
Requested whether or not profitable the Champions League for the primary time was Metropolis’s precedence this season after being eradicated by Madrid within the semi-finals final season after shedding to Chelsea within the 2021 ultimate, Soriano added: “No it’s by no means. Our precedence is all the time the Premier League – that’s what we work exhausting for each week and it’s our bread and butter. The Champions League is after all an aspiration nevertheless it’s not an obsession. We’ll win it, I’m certain.”
Celtic face a tough problem up in opposition to holders Actual Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Celtic, managed by Ange Postecoglou, final met the 14-time winners in 1980 — a European Cup tie that noticed the Spanish aspect finally prevail after trailing 2-0 at one stage.
Porto, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Membership Bruges make up Group B, with Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa in Group H.
England’s Euro 2022-winning supervisor Sarina Wiegman was additionally named the Uefa ladies’s coach of the 12 months, with Beth Mead lacking out to Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas within the participant of the 12 months award.
“It’s very nice to obtain this nice award, I’m honoured and humbled,” mentioned Weigman. “This award is basically for everybody concerned with the England workforce, the FA, the employees and most of all of the gamers. Our followers have been very nice too, so thanks followers for supporting us a lot. Hopefully we’ll qualify for the World Cup and benefit from the recreation.” Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti gained the boys’s award, with Karim Benzema named as males’s participant of the 12 months.
