The draw for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season was held in Istanbul, the venue of the final, as all the clubs got to know the first round of adversaries they would face en route to glory in Europe’s premier club competition.
The teams were separated into four pots for the draw. Pot 1 contained UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea, UEFA Europa League holders Villarreal, and the champions of Europe’s six top leagues, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, LOSC Lille, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon.
Pots 2,3, and 4 contained the other teams based on the UEFA Coefficient ranking. 2020/21 Champions League winners Chelsea were drawn in Group H against Italian giants Juventus, Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg and Swedish side Malmo FF.
Group A produced arguably the toughest group as English champions Manchester City were drawn against their 2020/21 semifinal opponents Paris Saint Germain, German side RB Leipzig and Belgian Jupiler League champions Club Brugge.
2019 winners Liverpool were drawn alongside Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, seven-time winners AC Milan and last season’s quarterfinalists FC Porto.
Europa League winners Villarreal were drawn against their opponents in the 2021 Europa League final Manchester United, Italian side Atalanta and Swiss side Young Boys.
The only debutants at this season’s Champions League is Moldova’s FC Sheriff Tiraspol, and they have been drawn alongside Serie A champions Inter Milan, 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid and Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich were handed a rematch of their 2020 quarterfinal after they were drawn against Messi-less Spanish giants FC Barcelona, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev.
In one of the most balanced groups, French champions LOSC Lille were drawn against Spanish side Sevilla, Austrian side RB Salzburg and German side Wolfsburg. Borussia Dortmund will still have Erling Haaland in their ranks when they take on their group of champions.
They have Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon, Dutch champions Ajax and Turkish champions Besiktas in their group.
Here’s the draw in full;
Group A
Manchester City (England)
Paris St Germain (France)
RB Leipzig (Germany)
Club Brugge (Belgium)
Group B
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Liverpool (England)
FC Porto (Portugal)
AC Milan (Italy)
Group C
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Ajax (Netherlands)
Besiktas (Turkey)
Group D
Inter Milan (Italy)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova)
Group E
Bayern Munich (Germany)
FC Barcelona (Spain)
Benfica (Portugal)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Group F
Villarreal (Spain)
Manchester United (England)
Atalanta (Italy)
Young Boys (Switzerland)
Group G
LOSC Lille (France)
Sevilla (Spain)
RB Salzburg (Austria)
Wolfsburg (Germany)
Group H
Chelsea (England)
Juventus (Italy)
Zenit St Petersburg (Russia)
Malmo (Sweden)
Alongside the UEFA Champions League draw, individual honours were awarded to players. Chelsea midfielder Jorginho was named as the UEFA Player of the Year, and his manager at the club, Thomas Tuchel was named as the Coach of the Year.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and midfielder N’Golo Kante were named as the Goalkeeper of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively.
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias was named as the Defender of the Year and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland was the Striker of the Year.
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer along with the medical team that saved the life of Christian Eriksen received the UEFA President’s Award.
