The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage took place this Thursday, the 25th, and the competition will feature rematches, tight groups and surprises.
This Thursday, the 25th, the draw for the group stage of the Champions League 2022/23 took place. With 32 teams, the eight groups of the competition were defined. Unlike the draw in competitions such as the World Cup and Libertadores, the groups in the European tournament do not define the knockout stage at all, which takes place by drawing again.
A group
Group A predicts a good balance: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers. The Amsterdam team resisted until the round of 16 of the competition the previous year. Dutch champions Ajax are selling one of their main and most talented pieces of attack, the Antonyfor Manchester United.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are the reigning EFL Cup, FA Cup and Community Shield champions, as well as runners-up in the Champions League and Premier League. Even with all the achievements, the English club comes from its worst start to the season in Klopp era, much lower than expected, with two draws and one defeat so far in the national league. The team’s biggest concern is the large amount of injuries.
Napoli is the current leader of Serie A, having qualified for the Champions League in third place in the 21/22 season. This is the third time Liverpool and Napoli have met in the group stage in 5 years, with the Reds qualifying on both previous occasions and the Italians on just one of them.
Lastly, Rangers are the current runners-up in the Europa League and Scottish Premiership. The team had a good 21/22 season, but failed to emerge victorious. Despite Liverpool’s favoritism throughout the team’s context in recent years, the other teams may surprise and fight until the last round for the places in the round of 16.
group B
Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge. Group B is one of the most balanced this season. Porto have had two busy transfer windows this year, losing one of their key players earlier in the year, Luis Diazin addition to selling Vitinha for PSG and Fábio Vieira for Arsenal.
Atlético de Madrid, which carries the favoritism of the group, in two tough and controversial games, was eliminated for the Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the 21/22 season. The Spanish team meets Porto again in the group stage for the second year in a row. Ranked 3rd in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen could surprise with talents like Paulinho and Patrik Schick. Club Brugge, on the other hand, has not had recent success in European competition. Despite being repeated, the Belgian team usually stops in the group stage of the competition.
Group C
This season’s “death group” features Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and plzen. The German club is the leader of the Bundesliga with 100% success so far, as well as the current champion. That Bayern is fiercely competitive and tough to take down is already a fact. Last season, they were eliminated by villarreal in a historic “zebra”.
Barcelona, in turn, did not qualify for the knockout stage in the last competition, but secured their spot in the Europa League. the team of Xavi counted on big reinforcements for this season, being able to surprise again. The last time the Bavarians met the Catalans in the competition ended in an 8-2 rout.
Inter Milan finished the Italian league in second place, in addition to having advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League last year, being eliminated as the only team to beat Liverpool at Anfield in 21/22. Plzen are the reigning Czech champions, but they don’t promise much competition for the group in the tournament.
Bring it on! 👊#UCL || #UCLdrawpic.twitter.com/z9IBs4zdUA
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2022
Group D
With Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting and Olympique de Marseille, group D has the current champion of the Europa League, who had a remarkable season. Frankfurt is top of the group, accompanied by Antonio Conte’s team, which promises a lot for 2022/23.
With big names like Harry Kane, Son, Kulusevski and richarlison, Spurs tend to go far in the European competition, with the favoritism to the leadership of the group. Sporting was second in the Portuguese league, as well as Marseille, who fell in the Europa League group stage.
Group E
Milan, Chelsea, RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb form the fifth group of the competition. The reigning Italian champions and the English team tend to advance. The Rossoneri, in addition to having good players from last season, such as Rafael Leão, also went to the market in search of reinforcements. However, it lost key pieces to its success in the previous season, such as kessie. Chelsea has also gone through the same process, but comes strong to fight for titles, with the arrivals of Koulibaly, Sterling and cucurella.
Group F
Luck accompanies champions: Real Madrid will find the Shakhtar DonetskBesides RB Leipzig and the Scottish champion Celtic. the team of Ancelottiin addition to winning La Liga and the Champions League, he did well in the ball market, signing one of the best defenders in the world, Rudigerand the young Tchouameni. However, the merengue club sold one of its most experienced players, casemiroessential in winning the last 5 Champions Leagues for the club.
Group G
Manchester City are the main favorites to take first place in Group G. With the comet Haalandthe team of guardiola can become unstoppable. Hitting the post several years in a row, the Citizens are looking for their first Champions League, the only title that is missing for the coach at the club.
O sevillean experienced club in the Europa League, can risk reaching far in the competition, but will face tough competition for a place in the knockout stage with Borussia Dortmund, Haaland’s former club, which usually advances to the second phase of the competition. The fourth piece of the group is the Copenhagen.
Group H
O PSG, once again, seeks its first Champions League. Like City, the French team hit the post many years in a row, but with the good form of Neymar, you can dream of lifting your ear at the end of the season. THE Juventus it’s the benfica They also fight for the place in the knockout stage.
with the turn of pogba, Juve can surprise. O benficain turn, sold its main player that led to success in the 21/22 season, Darwin Nunez, which led the club to the quarterfinals. O Maccabi Haifa qualified for the last pre-season spot in the group, eliminating the Red Star.
Source: sportbuzz
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
