Eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2020-2021 Champions League by Manchester City, Paris-Saint-Germain will find the Mancuniens from the group stage of the next edition, the draw made Thursday August 26 in Istanbul decided. The Parisians will also have to face the Germans of RB Leipzig and the Belgians of Bruges.
The other French club engaged in the competition – after the elimination of Monaco in the play-offs by the Ukrainians of Chakhtar Donetsk -, Lille, will have to do battle with the Spaniards in Seville, the Austrians in Salzburg and the Germans in Wolfsburg. The reigning French champion will thus find the highest European competition, two years after leaving it with his head bowed, without the slightest success in his group.
Group E is among the most relieved with in particular a long-awaited opposition between FC Barcelona of Antoine Griezmann and Bayern Munich of Robert Lewandowski. The Portuguese Benfica will act as outsiders alongside Dinamo Kiev.
Chelsea FC and their coach Thomas Tuchel, reigning European champions, will have to battle against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus Turin, the Portuguese with the five Golden Balls being, however, announced on the departure by several sports media. Zenith Saint-Petersburg is the third size of this group H. Other peaks of intensity are expected in group B, where Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, Porto and AC Milan will meet.
The Champions League, “goal” for PSG
Paris-Saint-Germain swears by itself to conquer a first Champions League, which its Qatari owner dreams of. “It’s our goal, we don’t hide it”, repeated President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in August. The recruitment this summer of Messi, Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and Gianluigi Donnarumma has given PSG a strike force unmatched in its history.
To reach the final in St. Petersburg, it will be necessary that “The big names in the workforce form a team on the ground”, recalled the coach Mauricio Pochettino. In addition to the collective, the recipe for success must also include ” a little bit of luck. You can have the best team in the world and not win ”, underlined Messi, four times winner of the “C1” with FC Barcelona.
Champions League 2021-2022: the groups of the first round after the draw
Here is the composition of the groups of the Football Champions League 2021-2022, after the draw held Thursday August 26 in Istanbul:
Group A: Manchester City (England), Paris Saint Germain, RB Leipzig (Germany), Club Bruges (Belgium).
Group B: Atletico Madrid (Spain), Liverpool (England), FC Porto (Portugal), AC Milan (Italy).
Group C: Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Sporting Portugal (Portugal), Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Besiktas (Turkey).
Group D: Inter Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Chakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova).
Group E: Bayern Munich (Germany), FC Barcelona (Spain), Benfica (Portugal), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine).
Group F: Villarreal CF (Spain), Manchester United (England), Atalanta Bergame (Italy), Young Boys Berne (Switzerland).
Group G: Lille, Sevilla FC (Spain), RB Salzburg (Austria), Wolfsburg (Germany).
Group H: Chelsea (England), Juventus Turin (Italy), Zenith Saint Petersburg (Russia), Malmö FF (Sweden).