Picture Credit: UEFA
UEFA has announced the much-awaited draw for the upcoming 2021-22 season of Champions League. The ceremony was held in Istanbul in Turkey on Thursday. Notably, the UCL group stage matches for this season will kick off on September 14 and 15, with the final scheduled to take place in Saint Petersburg, Russia on May 28, 2022.
The draws for group stages for UCL 2021-22 season are as follows:
| Group A | Manchester City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge |
| Group B | Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, FC Porto, AC Milan |
| Group C | Sporting CP, Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas |
| Group D | Inter, Real Madrid, Shakhtar, Sheriff Tiraspol |
| Group E | Bayern, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv |
| Group F | Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys |
| Group G | LOSC Lille, Sevilla, RB Salzburg, Wolfsburg |
| Group H | Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo |
Group B - Group of death
In UCL draws, there is always one group that stands out with respect to the quality of teams drawn together. This year, its Group B which is looking scary and exciting featuring some of the biggest clubs across various leagues. Reigning Laliga champions Atletico Madrid will be up against 2019 UCL winners Liverpool, 7-time champions AC Milan and 2-time UCL holders FC Porto.
Talking about other groups, there will certainly be a lot of attention on Group D where Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donestsk have been drawn together once again in the same group, just like last season. Sheriff Tiraspol are going to be the fourth team in this group who will certainly not be delighted to be drawn in such a tough group. Bayern vs Barcelona in Group E and Chelsea vs Juventus in Group H will also be some of the big games to watch out for this season.
Ronaldo vs Messi in group stages?
Amid all the exciting groups, there is Group A which has lit up eyes of every football fan. Two of the richest clubs in the world - Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain - have been drawn together alongside RB Leipzig and Club Brugge. However, something that makes this even more exciting is the fact that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could be up against each other in the group stages.
While Messi has already completed a sensational move to PSG, there is a possibility that CR7 might join Manchester City this week which could set up a perfect UCL face-off between two of the best football players of this generation.