The draw for the group stage of the 2022-2023 Uefa Champions League has thrown together some exciting ties – especially in group A where English club Liverpool will meet Scottish side Rangers.
The “old Battle of Britain clichés” will “get a good airing” when Rangers and Liverpool get it on, said Scott Murray in The Guardian. It will be the first time that the clubs have played each other in a competitive match. With Ajax and Napoli also in group A, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool “look to have the toughest task” of the English quartet.
Reacting to the draw, Klopp told the Liverpool website that it was a “proper, proper challenge”. All of the clubs “have quality, they all have pedigree and I would say they all have a chance”.
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Liverpool and Rangers are two of six British teams in the main group draw. They are joined by Scottish champions Celtic and English teams Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham. In group F Celtic face holders Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk. Chelsea take on Milan, Salzburg and Dinamo in group E. And Spurs play Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting and Marseille in group D.
Man City’s new star striker Erling Haaland will get “a speedy reunion” with former club Borussia Dortmund, said Sky Sports. Premier League champions City also take on Sevilla and FC Copenhagen.
With the Fifa World Cup taking place in Qatar in November and December, the group stage of the upcoming Champions League season has been condensed into just nine weeks. The matchday dates have been announced for the groups, but Uefa has said that the final fixture list “will be confirmed in due course”.
1. Group stage draw and matchday dates
The draw
- Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
- Group B: Porto, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Bruges
- Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Internazionale, Viktoria Plzen
- Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting, Marseille
- Group E: Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo
- Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
- Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen
- Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
Matchday dates
- Matchday one: 6-7 September
- Matchday two: 13-14 September
- Matchday three: 4-5 October
- Matchday four: 11-12 October
- Matchday five: 25-26 October
- Matchday six: 1-2 November
2. Knockout stages: draw and fixture dates
Round of 16
- Draw: 7 November
- Fixture dates: 14-15 and 21-22 February and 7-8 and 14-15 March
Quarter-finals
- Draw: 17 March
- Fixture dates: 11-12 and 18-19 April
Semi-finals
- Draw: 17 March
- Fixture dates: 9-10 and 16-17 May
3. When and where is the 2023 Champions League final?
The Uefa Champions League final will take place on Saturday 10 June 2023 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
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