The 2021/22 Champions League group stage draw has been made by UEFA officials in Istanbul.
After several rounds of qualifying that began in late June, the group stage signifies the real start of the competition, with 32 clubs now vying to be crowned European champions come May.
The draw followed the usual procedure for this stage of the Champions League. The 32 teams involved were split into four pots of eight. Pot one was reserved for the holders of both European trophies and the reigning champions of Europe’s top six domestic leagues.
The remaining pots were determined by UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, with one team from each pot drawn into each group, lettered A-H, while keeping apart those from the same country.
2021/22 Champions League group stage draw
Group A: Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge
Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan
Group C: Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas
Group D: Inter, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol
Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys
Group G: Lille, Sevilla, Red Bull Salzburg, Wolfsburg
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Malmo
The first round of matches will be played shortly on 14/15 September. Each club will play the usual six games in total, home and away once each against every other side in their group, with the sixth and final matchday scheduled for 7/8 December.
The top two clubs in each group will progress to the next round and the draw for the first knockout stage will be made on 13 December. The knockout action will then begin in mid-February.
This season’s Champions League final will be played in Saint Petersburg on Saturday 28 May 2022.
Changes this season mean that UEFA have also abolished the longstanding away goals rules across all three European competitions that has been in place since 1996.
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Source : 90min