CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW WINNERS AND LOSERS

Soccer

Written by Aaron Cantin

Storylines upon storylines. The UEFA Champions League group stage draws 2022-23 are full of them.

Source (Background Photo): Getty Images

Thursday’s procession in Istanbul signalled the start of a hectic European schedule that somehow has the 2022 World Cup plonked in the middle. Clubs must make it through all six of their group-stage fixtures before the November showcase in a run that is great for supporters but terrible for hamstrings.

Manchester City is the leading club in the betting to win the competition, which would be the first European title in their history if they can justify those predictions. Defending champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, are also among the fancied teams, but they may find it harder to complete a repeat and extend their European record to a 15th title, given the presence of a host of other talented clubs. Like Man City, French champions Paris Saint-Germain continue to push towards a first-ever Champions League crown as well, with Kylian Mbappe leading the Ligue 1 side for another run this season, alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi.

There is always a Group of Death in any draw, and this year has provided that in the form of a pool that sees Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Inter Milan all grouped together.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from UEFA’s ceremony that always, always lasts too long. Here are the betting odd’s heading into the new tournament.

Winner: Whoever avoided the Group of Death

Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen

Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen make up an incredible Group C. This is the group of Sadio Mane, Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku and many more world-class talents who will need to put their stamp on the competition quickly for a successful campaign.

Plzen may be expected to take on the role of whipping boys, but their ability to get any points at all could have a significant impact on who progresses to the knockout stages and who descends to the Europa League.

This is particularly important, you would think, for Barca and Inter. Considering Bayern hasn’t lost a group-stage fixture in 28 matches and counting, both clubs should have their eyes firmly on the second.

Loser: FC Barcelona

Let’s dwell on Group C a little longer. While it’s major entertainment for fans, Barcelona will be sick of the sight of Bayern. Even if you try to forget the 8-2 destruction in 2020, Barca was thoroughly embarrassed twice by the Germans in last year’s group stage.

A certain Lewandowski led Bayern to a 3-0 win at the Camp Nou on Matchday 1 last season. Although he didn’t score in the reverse fixture, the score line was repeated as Barca stumbled to third place behind Benfica. The pressure is firmly on, and they simply couldn’t have asked for a tougher task this early in the season.

Winner: English Premier League teams

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille

Group E: Milan, Chelsea, RB Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb

Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Dortmund, Copenhagen

It’s fair to say the English sides will be pleased with their draws overall. Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all avoided dreaded matches with Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain, while City was already in a power position in Pot 1. Each can be expected to comfortably win their group and send a full English complement through to the round of 16.

Antonio Conte and Spurs should be the happiest of all. Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille are tricky ties, but Spurs will be confident in racking up enough points to top the group. Vitally, these matches should also give Conte the opportunity to rotate more than he expected.

Winner: Scottish club supporters

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic

It might seem strange to suggest the Old Firm clubs as winners when they have both been handed ties against last year’s finalists. Let’s put this into context, though. The last time both Rangers and Celtic were in the competition at the same time was 2007-08.

You can forgive fans for getting a little excited about the prospect of hosting Liverpool at a bouncing Ibrox. There aren’t many better atmospheres across Europe on a big night, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men will be energized by facing down teams that could embarrass them if they aren’t completely fearless. Being back in the Champions League also hasn’t been a given for Celtic, who are back for the first time since 2017-18. They last escaped the group stage in 2012-13, falling 5-0 on aggregate to Juventus.

With Rangers and Celtic back at the pinnacle, and pushing each other in Scotland again, there’s no denying it’s a very special moment for the league and its fans.

Loser: Hosting your ex

Robert Lewandowski's return to the club that made him iconic is certainly headline news, but there’s another ex-Bundesliga assassin heading back to the German pitch that propelled him into the stratosphere.

Erling Haaland is coming back for Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian striker averaged a goal every 87 minutes for BVB, a stunning strike rate that could now come back to haunt them. Haaland finished 2020-21 as Champions League top scorer, netting 10 times for Dortmund in just 706 minutes played. City knocked them out in the quarterfinals that year in a two-legged tie.

Chelsea fans will also have to get used to facing their old players. Milan’s Olivier Giroud, Fikayo Tomori and Tiemoue Bakayoko get a crack at the Blues, who have started the Premier League season in less-than-ideal form.