This year’s UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures have been confirmed in Istanbul today, with six British clubs waiting to find out their continental fates for the coming campaign.
From the Premier League last season’s finalists Liverpool were joined in the draw by domestic champions Manchester City, 2021 Champions League winners Chelsea, and 2019 finalists Tottenham Hotspur.
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North of the border, both Celtic and Rangers will have been hoping for favourable draws, with the latter relying on a dramatic play-off victory over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening to book their place in the competition proper.
Of the six clubs, Man City were the only side to be included in Pot One of the draw, alongside the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG, and Bayern Munich.
Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham were all in Pot Two, as are Juventus, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, among others.
Meanwhile, both Celtic and Rangers found themselves in Pot Four, all but guaranteeing them a testing passage to the knockout stages.
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Check out our live blog from the draw below for all of the latest draw updates as they happen...
Champions League group stage draw: As it happened
The groups now look like this after the teams from Pot Three have been drawn...
Group A - Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli
Group B - FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen
Group C - Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan
Group D - Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP
Group E - AC Milan, Chelsea, FC Salzburg
Group F - Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group G - Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund
Group H - Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica
Tell you what, the Turks really know how to do a conference centre, don’t they?
Splendid events space, this, really top notch.
On a separate note, how are the nerves up in Glasgow?
The groups now look like this after the teams from Pot Four have been drawn...
Group A - Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B - FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Group C - Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Group D - Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP, Olympique Marseille
Group E - AC Milan, Chelsea, FC Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
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
All in all, not a bad draw for the six British clubs involved.
The main headline will, of course, be Liverpool and Rangers squaring up in Group A, while Celtic against Real Madrid is bound to be a fascinating tie for the Bhoys.
As for Chelsea, Tottenham, and Man City, make no mistake, there are some stern tests in there, but the three Premier League clubs will be quietly confident of booking their place in the knockout stages.
Just a quick word on the awards that have been handed out since the draw was made too.
- England manager Sarina Wiegman has been awarded Women’s Coach of the Year after her Euro 2022 triumph.
- Men’s Coach of the Year goes Carlo Ancelotti following Real Madrid’s Champions League success.
- Barcelona star Alexia Putellas has been named Women’s Player of the Year, beating England’s Beth Mead.
- Somewhat unsurprisingly, Karim Benzema is named Men’s Player of the Year following his role in Real’s Champions League victory.
That’s all for tonight’s proceedings - check out the full draw once again below, and keep an eye on NationalWorld for all the latest Champions League updates and reaction.
Group A - Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B - FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Group C - Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Group D - Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP, Olympique Marseille
Group E - AC Milan, Chelsea, FC Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
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