The road to Istanbul began in Istanbul as the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw was held on Thursday, August 25 in the city that will host the final in June 2023.
The 32 clubs that qualified for the group stage 26 automatic qualifiers along with six teams that earned berths through the qualifying rounds found out their fate as the names were pulled out of the pots at the glitzy ceremony.
Rangers will feel they have been given the reward for all their hard work in qualification as they draw three big names in Ajax, Liverpool, and Napoli.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will return to his former club Borussia Dortmund when the sides meet twice in Group G.
City, who exited the semi-finals last year against eventual winners Real Madrid, will also face Sevilla and FC Copenhagen as they look to finally add a European trophy to their domestic successes.
Group C, meanwhile, looks to be the ‘Group of Death, with European giants Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Inter Milan all drawn together.
Czech side Viktoria Plzen are unlucky to be the fourth team in that group.
PSG, Juventus, and Benfica are joined by Maccabi Haifa in an interesting-looking Group H, with Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, and Club Brugge contesting Group B.
Chelsea will welcome back some old faces when they take on seven-time champions AC Milan in a blockbuster Champions League showdown.
Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori will return to Stamford Bridge as Serie A champions in Chelsea’s toughest home game of the group.
AC Milan, FC Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb will be their opponents in Group E this season.
Tottenham remarkably are the second most backed team with the bookies for this season’s Champions League behind Man City.
Facing last season’s Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt along with Sporting Lisbon and Marseilles in Group D.
Main Image: The Indian Express
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