2023 UEFA Champions League draw analysis: Winners, losers and the Group of Death
The journey to turn out to be topped the most effective membership in Europe begins subsequent month when the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League marketing campaign kicks off.
On Thursday, European soccer’s governing physique performed the group stage attract Monaco to pool 32 groups throughout the continent into eight first-round teams.
Here’s a take a look at the teams.
GROUP A
Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester United (England), Copenhagen (Denmark), Galatasaray (Turkey)
Marquee matchup: Manchester United is again within the Champions League after a two-year absence and can be wanting ahead to going up towards its rivals Bayern Munich, whom they’ve clashed with 11 occasions on this competitors. These two groups are the category of Group A, so it’s greater than doubtless that their pair of matches will resolve first place.
The large query: Can Canadian Alphonso Davies and Bayern Munich put an finish to a disappointing streak of three consecutive quarter-final exits within the Champions League and reassert itself because the dominant drive in European membership soccer by profitable the continental competitors for a seventh time?
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GROUP B
Sevilla (Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lens (France)
Marquee matchup: Sevilla and Arsenal each play vibrant and entertaining manufacturers of soccer, so the 2 matches between the Sevillistas and the Gunners ought to make for must-see TV. Plus, Mikel Arteta can have a degree to show – regardless of his success as supervisor of Arsenal, the Spaniard continues to be considerably underappreciated in his native Spain.
The large query: Can seven-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners Sevilla take the subsequent step in its evolution and win the Champions League after dominating UEFA’s secondary match for the previous 17 years?
GROUP C
Napoli (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Braga (Portugal), Union Berlin (Germany)
Marquee matchup: Real Madrid is unbeaten in 4 video games (with three wins) towards Napoli of their earlier European Cup/Champions League encounters. But the Italians enter this yr’s match because the favourites to high Group C after profitable Serie A final season, and buoyed by the supreme attacking skills of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
The large query: After slowly developing via the ranks, what sort of impression will Union Berlin make in its debut season within the Champions League after beforehand competing within the UEFA Conference League and the UEFA Europa League over the previous two years?
GROUP D
Benfica (Portugal), Inter Milan (Italy), Salzburg (Austria), Real Sociedad (Spain)
Marquee matchup: Benfica gave Inter Milan a stern problem within the quarter-finals of final season’s Champions League earlier than succumbing over two legs. The Portuguese outfit received plenty of plaudits for his or her attacking show within the second match on the collection and can be desperate to show they belong amongst Europe’s elite.
The large query: Will Inter Milan be capable to duplicate its magical and stunning run to final yr’s Champions League ultimate and win the match for the primary time since 2010 throughout its historic treble season?
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GROUP E
Feyenoord (Netherlands), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Lazio (Italy), Celtic (Scotland)
Marquee matchup: Feyenoord beat Celtic within the 1970 European Cup ultimate, however Atlético Madrid vs. Lazio is that this group’s most intriguing matchup as it can see supervisor Diego Simeone going through the Italian group with whom he received a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Super Cup throughout his distinguished enjoying profession.
The large query: Will Celtic lastly put its underperforming methods in Champions League behind it and advance to the knockout spherical for the primary time since 2012-13?
GROUP F
Paris Saint-Germain (France), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle (England)
Marquee matchup: It must be AC Milan vs. Newcastle on condition that the English membership paid a reported €70-million switch payment to the Rossoneri this summer time as a part of a transfer that made the sublimely gifted midfielder the costliest Italian participant in historical past.
The large query: How will a star-studded PSG facet led by Kylian Mbappe fare within the “Group of Death” now that Lionel Messi is in MLS and Neymar has moved to Saudi membership Al Hilal?
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GROUP G
Manchester City (England), Leipzig (Germany), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Young Boys (Switzerland)
Marquee matchup: Manchester City vs. Leipzig ought to be fairly attention-grabbing if for no different motive than the Germans made the Premier League facet sweat when it earned a 1-1 draw within the first leg of their round-of-16 battle in final season’s Champions League. City responded by posting a 7-0 win within the return match, however Leipzig turned heads and earned the respect of the eventual match winners in that first recreation.
The large query: After a treble-winning season in 2022-23, can Man City turn out to be the primary group to repeat as Champions League holders since Real Madrid three-peated from 2016 to 2018?
GROUP H
Barcelona (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Royal Antwerp (Belgium)
Marquee matchup: La Liga champions Barcelona have been handed a beneficial draw, however the matches towards Porto may show difficult for the Blaugrana. The Portuguese outfit pushed eventual finalists Inter Milan to the brink of elimination within the round-of-16 in final season’s Champions League, so that they received’t be intimidated by Barca’s large status.
The large query: Will modest Belgian facet Royal Antwerp be utterly out of its depth throughout its first Champions League season whereas competing in a gaggle with three different skilled European campaigners?
John Molinaro is among the main soccer journalists in Canada, having coated the sport for over 20 years for a number of media shops, together with Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a web site devoted to in-depth protection of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
