The road to Istanbul is set with various teams all across Europe ready to slug it out for the coveted UEFA Champions League title.
Teams were drawn into eight groups of four teams each on Thursday evening at the draw ceremony held in Istanbul.
While some teams are smiling for supposedly favourable draws, others will be hoping for serious luck to scale through.
So which teams are the winners and which ones are the losers from this Champions League draw? What interesting fixtures are we going to see and which Nigerian players will also be in action?
The Winners and Losers of the Champions League draw
Reigning champions Real Madrid will seek to win consecutive titles when they begin their campaign in Group F.
Madrid will face German side RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donestk and Celtic. On Thursday night, we also witnessed manager Carlo Ancelotti and French striker Karim Benzema winning UEFA’s prestigious awards.
While Ancelotti won the UEFA men’s Coach of The Year award, Benzema claimed the men’s Player of The Year prize.
Los Blancos are clear favourites to emerge from the group. The other three teams will have to jostle for the other knockout stage slot.
Meanwhile, in Group G, English champions Manchester City should be able to overcome their opponents and emerge tops. City have a fantastic record in UEFA Champions League group stage over the years.
Pep Guardiola’s side has been among the favourites to win the title in at least, the past two seasons. The team lost the final to Chelsea in 2021 and were semifinalists a year later.
Also in Group G are Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Akinkunmi Amoo’s FC Copenhagen. The Danish outfit may be the underdogs in the group but will still fancy their chances against the likes of BVB and Sevilla.
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Benfica will put up some good fight in Group H but Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus may just possess too much for the Portuguese side and Maccabi Haifa to handle. The Israeli club are set to be the weeping boys in the group. It is their first appearance in the group stages since 2009.
One of the busiest teams in the transfer window is Chelsea. The team’s major new owner Todd Boehly is trying to impress and reinforce the Blues team with his spending spree.
Statistically, the West London club, in Group E, is definitely a winner in the draws. Austria side Salzburg – parading former Nigerian youth international Samson Tijani – and Dinamo Zagreb are not favoured to qualify.
The obvious reason for this is the presence of AC Milan in the group. The Rossoneri are the Italian Serie A champions and have become a renewed and re-energised side under Stefano Pioli.
Milan will hope to consolidate on their league victory and display a brilliant run in the Champions League. Chelsea, however, remain the most likely team to top the group. It is a nice draw for the Blues who are winners, and not losers, in this Champions League draw.
Free for All
Sometimes people call it “surprises,” other times they call it “miracles.” The fact remains that shock results are inevitable in football. Maybe that is why some teams are regarded as underdogs or minnows. So when these so-called minnows or underdogs do unusual things, say win in an absolutely unbelievable manner, we call it an “upset” or “miracle.”
Let’s take a look at Group B and D. We may not see the possibility of that (upset or miracle), meaning it’s a FREE FOR ALL.
That said, it may be difficult then to come out straight on who the winners and losers are in this Champions League group following the draw.
In Group B, Zaidu Sanusi’s FC Porto will challenge Spanish giants AtlĆ©tico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge. The Belgians could be said to be the underdogs. That may not be entirely true if one takes a critical assessment of the other competitors, especially in Europe.
Leverkusen have been extremely disappointing this season, losing all three league matches. This is after embarrassingly being ousted in the first round of the DFB-Pokal by SV Elversberg.
Porto haven’t stamped their feet in the Champions League over the years and the fear factor has been long lost. This is not to say the Portuguese team should be underrated in anyway.
Then there is AtlƩtico. Diego Someone has managed to find his way around this competition in the past decade.
They got to the final in the 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 seasons but lost both times to eternal rivals Real Madrid. Los Cholchoneros reached the last four in 2016/2017 but have failed to get past the quarterfinal ever since.
Group D is a ‘soft group’ with no heavyweights in particular. Tottenham, Frankfurt, Sporting and Marseille have neither been here nor there when it comes to Champions League affairs. So it is not about qualifying from the group. It is about whether the qualifiers from the group will be able to hold their own against the big boys.
Group of Death
Undoubtedly, Group C wins that label of this season’s Champions League draw’s “Group of Death.” Bayern Munich recently won the title in 2020 while Barcelona last lifted the title in 2015. Inter last had the opportunity to add to their European cabinet when they claimed it in 2010.
Unfortunately for Czech outfit Viktoria PlzeÅ, they find themselves in this group. PlzeÅ must have had a nightmare draw on Thursday and sincerely, it is hard to see them qualify from the group.
Barcelona fans have not forgotten the bashing of the club at the hands of the Bavarians in 2020. The 8-2 quarter final loss back then is still fresh in their memories. BarƧa fans would have wanted to avoid the German side but it is what it is. It is reality now and they have to face it.
In as much as it seems like Bayern will blow away every opposition in this group, Barcelona may not find it all too easy with Inter also. The Nerazurri haven’t bursted brains in recent times in European competition but they are still to be reckoned with.
The most impressive of their recent achievements however, was their Scudetto victory in 2021.
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Interesting times ahead
Can we indeed complete this piece without touching Group A at all? You answered right. The group features some exciting matchups of Ajax, Napoli, Liverpool and Rangers. It will be interesting to see how Napoli responds to their return to the tournament having missed out last season. Victor Osimhen will be a man to look out for in the team while Ajax will bank on new signing Calvin Bassey in defence.
Liverpool will hope to get themselves soonest especially with injuries ravaging the squad. The Reds have failed to win a single game this season. Manager Jurgen Klopp has lost key men Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Thiago Alcantara to injuries. Dependable midfielder Fabinho, who is recovering from injury, is also not fully fit yet.
Interestingly, Scottish team Rangers, who got to the final of the Europa League last season, are back. Giovanni van Bronckhorst masterminded Rangers’ return to the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
It will be exciting to see how Erling Braut Haaland makes a return to his former club when City and BVB clash. Ilkay Gundogan also made a switch to the English side from Dortmund few years ago. Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski will be up against a Bayern Munich side which he scored goals with reckless abandon for.
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