Champions League group stage draw
Crunch Sports Staff
in Soccer 30 Aug 2021
(Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Arsenal will face Bayern Munich for the third time in four seasons in the Champions League after they were paired together in the group stage draw.
Arsene Wenger will lock horns with Pep Guardiola in Group F alongside Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb.
Thursday’s draw in Monaco saw Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho given a trip back to his former club Porto, where he won his first Champions League crown in 2004, in Group G. They are joined by Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Dynamo Kiev.
Although the Blues boss will be happy to have avoided the big guns, his squad face some long away trips in the coming months.
Manuel Pellegrini had no such luck as Manchester City find themselves in Group D alongside last season’s beaten finalists Juventus, Europa League winners Sevilla and Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.
Manchester United’s return to the competition got off to a decent start as Louis van Gaal was paired with compatriots PSV Eindhoven from the top seeds.
The Old Trafford boss will not be getting carried however as some potentially tricky opponents emerged in CSKA Moscow and Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg.
Luis Enrique and Barcelona will begin their quest to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League in Group E alongside Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov.
Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have been paired together in a mouth-watering Group A that will see Angel Di Maria return to the Bernabeu. They are joined by Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo.
Atletico Madrid, finalists in the 2014, are in Group C with Benfica, Galatasaray and Astana, while Group H sees Zenit St Petersburg, Valencia, Lyon and Genk lock horns for their spot amongst the elite Last-16 next spring.
The first round of matches takes place on Tuesday, September 15th and Wednesday, September 16th.
Champions League group stage draw
Arsenal will face Bayern Munich for the third time in four seasons in the Champions League after they were paired together in the group stage draw.
