The finest teams from across Europe will face off from September to early December in a bid to progress to the knockout stages of club football’s most prestigious competition and this afternoon’s draw in Istanbul is sure to throw up some intriguing permutations.
After several surprise winners of European leagues last season the group stages promise to be all the more intriguing with some of the biggest names in the sport clustered together in pot two.
Indeed there is the potential for four former champions to meet in the groups this winter; either way the return of the Champions League promises to be one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.
32 participating sides now knows their group stage opposition.
The 2021/22 Champions League group stage draw took place in Istanbul on Thursday, August 26, 2021.
Group A
Manchester City
Paris St. Germain
Red Bull Leipzig
Club Brugge
Group B
Atlético Madrid
Liverpool
FC Porto
AC Milan
Group C
Sporting Club de Portugal
Borussia Dortmund
Ajax Amsterdam
Besiktas
Group D
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
Shaktar Donetsk
Group E
Bayern Munchen
FC Barcelona
Benfica
Group F
Villarreal
Manchester United
Atalanta Bergamo
Young Boys
Group G
LOSC Lille Metropolè
Sevilla
FC Red Bull Salzsburg
Wolfsburg
Group H
Chelsea
Juventus
Zenit St. Petersburg
Malmo
The 32 teams in the 2021/22 Champions League group stage consists of 26 automatic qualifiers joined by six play-off winners.
Champions League 2021/22 schedule:
Matchday 1: 14/15 September
Matchday 2: 28/29 September
Matchday 3: 19/20 October
Matchday 4: 2/3 November
Matchday 5: 23/24 November
Matchday 6: 7/8 December
