The draw for the group stage of the Champions League has ensured absolute top matches on Thursday evening. The group matches will be played on September 14/15, September 28/29, October 19/20, November 2/3, November 23/24 and December 7/8. The final is on Saturday 28 May in Saint Petersburg.
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are linked in Group A, while Atlético Madrid and Liverpool are in Group B. The Barcelona of Ronald Koeman, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay has to deal with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev in the group stage. The VfL Wolfsburg of Mark van Bommel and Wout Weghorst got away relatively well with a link to Lille OSC, Sevilla and Red Bull Salzburg. Defending champion Chelsea meets Juventus in the group stage.
The composition of Group D is striking: Internazionale, Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk were already opponents in the group stage of the tournament last season. The Atalanta of Hans Hateboer, Marten de Roon and Sam Lammers is in Group F with, among others, Europa League winner Villarreal and Manchester United.
Group A: Manchester City (Eng), Paris Saint-Germain (Fra), RB Leipzig (Ger) and Club Brugge (Bel)
Group B: Atletico Madrid (Spa), Liverpool (Eng), FC Porto (Por) and AC Milan (Ita)
Group C: Sporting Portugal (Por), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ajax (Dutch) and Besiktas (Tur)
Group D: Internazionale (Ita), Real Madrid (Spa), Shakhtar Donetsk (Uk) and Sheriff Tiraspol (Mol)
Group E: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spa), Benfica (Por) and Dynamo Kyiv (Uk)
Group F: Villarreal (Spa), Manchester United (Spa), Atalanta (Ita) and Young Boys (Zwi)
Group G: Lille OSC (Fra), Sevilla (Spa), Red Bull Salzburg (East) and VfL Wolfsburg (Ger)
Group H: Chelsea (Eng), Juventus (Ita), Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russian) and Malmö FF (Swe)
Jar 1: Chelsea (Eng), Villarreal (Spa), Atlético Madrid (Spa), Bayern Munich (Ger), Internazionale (Ita), Lille OSC (Fra), Sporting Portugal (Por), Manchester City (Eng)
Jar 2: Real Madrid (Spa), Barcelona (Spa), Juventus (Ita), Paris Saint-Germain (Fra), Manchester United (Eng), Liverpool (Eng), Sevilla (Spa), Borussia Dortmund (Ger)
Jar 3: Ajax (Dutch), FC Porto (Por), RB Leipzig (Ger), Atalanta (Ita), Benfica (Por), Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russian), Red Bull Salzburg (East), Shakhtar Donetsk (Uk)
Jar 4: Besiktas (Tur), Dynamo Kiev (Oek), Club Brugge (Bel), AC Milan (Ita), VfL Wolfsburg (Ger), Young Boys (Zwi), Malmö FF (Swe) and Sheriff Tiraspol (Mol)