Monaco – The UEFA Champions League draw held in Monaco on Friday set up some of the biggest fixtures of the season, with defending champions Paris Saint Germain grouped against Barcelona and Bayern Munich, while 15 time winners Real Madrid will meet Liverpool and Manchester City.
PSG’s schedule also includes games against Newcastle United, Athletic Bilbao, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta and Sporting Lisbon. The French club’s defence of the title promises a demanding run, with Tottenham seeking revenge after losing to PSG in the Super Cup earlier this month.
Madrid’s draw was equally tough. Apart from Liverpool and City, they will face Juventus, Marseille, Monaco and Inter Milan, as well as a long trip to Kazakhstan to play Kairat Almaty, more than 6,400 kilometres from Spain.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are set for a busy campaign with matches at Anfield against Madrid, Inter and Arsenal, while also travelling to Frankfurt, Marseille and Galatasaray.
Bayern Munich, the German champions, will revisit familiar rivals, hosting Chelsea in a repeat of the 2012 final and travelling to Paris to face PSG in a rematch of the 2020 final. They will also play against Pafos in Cyprus.
Manchester City drew Napoli, sending former favourite Kevin De Bruyne back to the Etihad with his new club. The English side also travels to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt, one of four newcomers in the expanded 36 team league phase alongside Kairat Almaty, Pafos and Union Saint Gilloise.
This season’s format sees each team play eight different opponents on a seeded schedule. Matches begin on September 16 and conclude on January 28, when all 36 clubs will play simultaneously on the final matchday.
The top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16, while those ranked ninth to 24th contest playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated.
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