The Champions League is celebrating its 68th edition – the 31st since the competition was rebranded in 1992.
This season’s will be very different to others in that the World Cup finals will be played between the group and knockout stages.
The 2022/23 Champions League got underway with the preliminary rounds, starting on 21 June up to the play-offs which were concluded this week.
Six teams qualified for the group stage via the qualification route – Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa, Copenhagen, Rangers, Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb along with 26 teams who automatically qualified due to their final position in their respective domestic leagues.
Among that group are 15 clubs who ended last season as champions of their domestic league.
The draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League was completed on Thursday evening in Istanbul, with the following Groups being drawn.
Champions League Groups:
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B: Porto, At. Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Brugge
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter, Viktoria Plzen
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Spurs, Sporting CP, Marseille
Group E: Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar, Celtic
Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Dortmund, Copenhagen
Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Hafia
2022/23 Champions League group stage dates
The 2022/23 Champions League group stage begins with the Matchday 1 fixtures being played over two days – Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 September 2022. The group stage will conclude earlier on this occasion, on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 November 2022, in time to accommodate the World Cup in Qatar which gets underway later that month.
Champions League group stage
Matchday 1: 6/7 September
Matchday 2: 13/14 September
Matchday 3: 4/5 October
Matchday 4: 11/12 October
Matchday 5: 25/26 October
Matchday 6: 1/2 November
The Round of 16 draw will take place on Monday 7 November
