UEFA Champions League draw: Barcelona pulls tough matchups as groups are set

The Champions League draw for next season came and went in Istanbul Thursday, and Barcelona got some tough group stage assignments for the second straight season. 

In Group C, Barcelona, which exited in group-stage play last season, will have to go against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, top teams in Germany and Italy, respectively. 

Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic rounds out the four-team group. 

Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona last season in both its home and away matches, but Barcelona now has Robert Lewandowski, a former Bayern player. However, Barcelona felt the loss last season of Lionel Messi, who now plays for Paris Saint-German. 

Speaking of Paris Saint-German, Messi and a loaded squad that includes Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Sergio Ramos, is looking for the club’s first European title. The team will be playing in Group H with Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal) and Maccabi Haifa (Israel). 

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Real Madrid, the Champions League’s most recent winner, should have an easy road as well. It will have Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) and Celtic (Scotland) on its schedule in groups. 

Another interesting group to watch is Group A, which will feature the stacked Liverpool team out of the Premier League along with Netherland’s Ajax and Italy’s Napoli. The Rangers from Scotland round out that group. Liverpool is looking for redemption after its loss to Real Madrid in the final last season.

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The Champions League will begin Sept. 6, an earlier start date than usual, and will end five weeks earlier due to the FIFA World Cup starting in Qatar Nov. 20. 

So the group stages will be sorted out, followed by the World Cup, and the round of 16 playoff will begin in Feb. 2023. 

Here are the groups: 

GROUP A: Ajax (Netherlands), Liverpool (England), Napoli (Italy), Rangers (Scotland)

GROUP B: Porto (Portugal), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium)

GROUP C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic)

GROUP D: Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Tottenham (England), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Marseille (France)

GROUP E: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), Salzburg (Austria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

GROUP F: Real Madrid (Spain), Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Celtic (Scotland)

GROUP G: Manchester City (England), Sevilla (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark)

GROUP H: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

The Associated Press contribute to this report.