Group C has been marked as the Group of Death, pitching multiple winners Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage draw carried out on Thursday, August 26, 2022.
The trio who have won the Champions League trophy 14 times among them, will be joined by Czech champions, Viktoria Plzen.
Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti picked the UEFA Men’s Coach of The Year following his success in the Champions League, making history by becoming the first manager to win the UCL 4 times (AC Milan (2), Madrid (2)). The Italian pipped Man City boss Pep Guardiola and his Premier League rival Jurgen Klopp to the award.
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UCL winner Karim Benzema who finished as top scorer with 15 goals in the 2021/22 season picked the UEFA Men’s Player of The Year award, beating teammate and man-of-the-match in May’s Final, Thibaut Courtois and Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne to win the award.
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The draw will see Robert Lewandowski make a return to Bayern Munich with Barcelona, while Haaland will make a return trip back to Dortmund with Pep’s City.
Holders Real Madrid were handed an easier run in Group F, opening its title defence against RB Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donestk (Ukraine) and Celtic (Scotland).
Runner-up Liverpool will be looking to go one step further this season but will have to scale through a tricky Group A featuring Dutch champions Ajax, Napoli and Rangers who are making their first appearance in Europe’s premier club competition since 2010.
Earlier in the ceremony, legendary Italy and former AC Milan manager Ariggo Sacchi was presented with the 2022 UEFA President’s award.
See the complete Champions League draw below:
Reacting to the UEFA Champions League draw, 2009 winner and retired Ivorian midfielder, Yaya Toure, tweeted about the blockbuster games ahead.
He tweeted, “Are you happy with who your team got in the draw? Sooooo many BIG games!”
See list of award winners:
UEFA Player of The Year: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
UEFA Coach of The Year: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)