Champions League Draw: Real Madrid and PSG Face High-Caliber Challenges
The Champions League draw this season has revealed exciting and challenging pairings for the most outstanding teams. Real Madrid, with 15 titles to their name, will face rivals of the stature of Liverpool and Manchester City. The current champion, Paris Saint-Germain, also faces a tough test on their path to the knockout stage, with matches against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Real Madrid will face Liverpool in what could be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to Anfield, following his signing by the Spanish club this summer.Madrid, who drew two English rivals from the top-ranked teams, lost 2-0 at Anfield in the league phase last year. Xabi Alonso’s team will host Manchester City, whom they defeated in last season’s playoffs. In addition, Madrid will face Juventus, reliving their victory in the 2017 final, and two Ligue 1 opponents: Marseille and Monaco, where Kylian Mbappé began his career. To add more excitement, they will also have a 4,000-mile trip to Kazakhstan to face Kairat Almaty. For their part, PSG was not as lucky in the draw, facing Barcelona and Bayern Munich. In addition, they will face Tottenham Hotspur, repeating a tight match from the Super Cup. The French champions were paired with two of the most difficult opponents from the lower-ranked teams: Newcastle United and Athletic Club. Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon complete the list of eight matches for the champion in the 36-team league phase.That is, I am sure, a match that the whole world will be watching.
Arne Slot, Liverpool coach
Other notable clashes in the league phase include Chelsea against Barcelona, and Arsenal against Inter Milan. The draw also offers the possibility of a notable return, with Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City legend, returning to the Etihad with his new club, Napoli. City will also travel to the north of the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt of Norway. This is the second season of the league phase format with 36 teams that will play against eight different opponents in a weighted schedule until January, ranked in a single leaderboard. The weighted calendar gave each team two drawn opponents from each of the four qualifying pots. The teams were ranked according to their ranking during five seasons of results in UEFA competitions. The new participants in the Champions League main phase are: Bodo/Glimt, Kairat Almaty, Pafos (Russian-owned) and the Belgian champion Union Saint-Gilloise. The matches in Bodo and Almaty will be the longest trips for the visiting teams, and their home matches in January will be among the coldest in the competition’s history. Bodo plays on a heated artificial turf field. The computerized draw gave each team two opponents drawn from each of the four classification pots. Teams are ranked according to their ranking during five seasons of results in UEFA competitions. The matches will begin on September 16th and the last matchday of the league phase will be on January 28th. That Wednesday night, the 36 teams will play 18 matches that will begin at the same time. The top eight teams in the final standings will advance to the round of 16 in March. They will be joined by the winners of eight play-offs, with teams ranked between ninth and 24th, scheduled for February. The remaining 12 teams will be eliminated.It’s always difficult. We forget last season, we think about this season.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of PSG
