Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan have been drawn in the same group dubbed the group of Death. This is even Liverpool and Rangers will meet in a battle of Britain in the Champions League after being paired in Group A when this season’s Champions League group stages will get underway on the midweek of September 6-7
The Scottish side, who overcame PSV on Wednesday to qualify for the group stages, will face the Reds for the first time in a competitive match, as well as group games against Dutch champions Ajax and Italian side Napoli.
Liverpool have never previously faced Rangers in a competitive match. The Reds’ only previous European Cup/Champions League meeting with a Scottish opponent was in the 1980-81 last 16, beating Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen 5-0 on aggregate en route to winning the title. First.
Erling Haaland will get a speedy reunion with former club Borussia Dortmund after Manchester City, last season’s beaten semi-finalists, were drawn against the German club, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen in Group G.
Chelsea will come up against former defender Fikayo Tomori after the 2021 winners were paired with AC Milan in Group E. Thomas Tuchel’s side will also face Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb and will be favourites to progress to the knockout stage.
Tottenham, finalists in 2019 and back in the competition for the first time since 2020, were handed a favourable-looking draw alongside Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon, and Marseille in Group D.
Scottish champions Celtic will face Champions League holders Real Madrid in a glamour tie in Group F, along with matches against RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk as they return to the group stage for the first time since 2017.
Champions League group-stage draw in full
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers.
Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, V Plzen.
Group D: Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting, Marseille.
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb.
Group F: Real Madrid, Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic.
Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen.
Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa.
The round-of-16 draw will take place on November 7 at 12pm CET in Nyon, Switzerland.
The 2022/23 Champions League final will take place on June 10, 2023 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, which was the venue for Liverpool’s famous comeback victory over AC Milan in 2005.
Round of 16: February 14/15/21/22 & March 7/8/14/15, 2023
Quarter-finals: April 11/12 & 18/19, 2023
Semi-finals: May 9/10 & 16/17, 2023
Final: June 10, 2023 (Istanbul, Turkey)
