Different chance for Spanish teams in the draw for the group stage of the Champions League. Difficult groups for Barcelona and Sevilla, while Atlético de Madrid, and especially Real Madrid, will have simpler rivals a priori. The white club was framed in Group F, with Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic; Barcelona, in C, with Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Viktoria Pilsen; Atlético, in B, with Porto, Bayern Leverkusen and Bruges; and Sevilla, in G, with Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen. Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema has been named UEFA’s best player of the year, while Barca midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the same award for the second year in a row, in a season particularly difficult for her due to the injury he left her behind. of the European Championship this summer. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been voted best coach of the year. The group stage of the Champions will begin on September 6 with the first day. The sixth and last will take place on November 2, before the start of the Qatar World Cup. The final will be played in Istanbul (Turkey), where the draw was made today.
One of Oblak’s best plays was against one of his rivals:
Mess for Barcelona, move to Real Madrid
Barca don’t win for scare. No Spanish side have emerged worse from the Champions League group stage draw. Between September 6 and November 2, the Catalans will have to ruminate with two bones: Bayern and Inter, and an apparent thumb (Viktoria Plzen). Pep Guardiola and Haaland (Manchester City) and he will have a lot to sweat with Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen. Atlético will have a tangle, which will be repeated with Porto and will also cross paths with Bayer Leverkusen and Brugge. And, in principle, a march for Real Madrid: Leipzig, Shakhtar and Celtic.
Read the review of the draw by José Sámano click here.
Group-by-group analysis of the Champions League draw
Mixed luck for Spanish teams in the Champions League group stage draw. Difficult groups for Barcelona and Sevilla, while Atlético de Madrid, and especially Real Madrid, will have simpler rivals a priori.
David Álvarez, Ramon Besa, Ladislao Moñino and Rafael Pineda explain the situation of each of the Spaniards in the first phase of the Champions League. You can read it here.
Enrique Cerezo, President:
– We’ve been clashing with everyone lately too. It’s an even group, great matches, very interesting. You have to be lucky to be in the round of 16.
– Each year is different, the teams are renewed, the teams change, so do we. It’s a very balanced group and it will be good to see them all compete.
– It’s the start of the season. Good or bad start does not mean that in 15 or 20 days or four months you will be the champion of the group. We are able to compete and I think we will do well.
And finally, Atlético de Madrid, to whom the draw was also benevolent.
Carlo Ancelotti:
– What gives me hope is the Champions League, it’s the idea of thinking about the group. The future is ahead of us and we are already thinking about this year’s group.
– It’s a different group because in two months we played all the matches and last year, in the easiest match against the Sheriff -at the Bernabéu- we lost it. That’s why you have to be careful. There will be difficult atmospheres and it will not be easy to play in Glasgow, in Leipzig… We must respect the group as our adversaries respect Real Madrid.
– I don’t know what will happen to Marco Asensio, but I think he is trying to find out if he can leave. But if he doesn’t come out, from the first day of September he will be a one hundred percent Real Madrid player.
Butragueño, Director of Institutional Relations:
– We are talking about the Champions League, we know that each match is extremely difficult. The importance of these games, especially for those who face Real Madrid. We have to face it with hope. Last season was magical in every way. This fighting and winning spirit is what we will once again try to put on the field.
– Congratulations to Carlo and Benzema for these well-deserved recognitions without a doubt. We are very proud of both of them, two extraordinary professionals, very committed to the club.
– We are happy with him and Carlo too, who mixed a group and led us to a very successful season. The supporters played a fundamental role.
At Real Madrid, one of those who had the most fortune in the draw, also celebrated the awards for Benzema and Ancelotti.
Rafa Yuste, Vice President:
– We strengthened well, Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany did a great job and there are no excuses, we have to compete with these rivals. We respect them, but worry is not the word. And given the enthusiasm of the supporters and the desire of the staff and the players, we have to be optimistic.
– The illusion has returned to the stadium and there are no more excuses. This year we have to compete with the new group of players we have and I am sure we will fight.
– We don’t like to talk about players who are at other clubs, we have a great relationship with Manchester City. Bernardo Silva is a great City player and we are focused on our project
Jordi Cruyff, sports advisor:
– It can be considered the group of death. It’s a difficult group, strong and important teams. It will be enjoyable for fans and great games for players to enjoy and suffer, but most of all to test themselves.
– The positive part of us against Bayern is that we now have Lewadowski. It will surely be a very special match for him, but also for us. We have a tough three or four game streak against them. We have strengthened a lot and we are a different team from the last seasons. I think we will be able to fight them one by one. Inter, a good Italian team, have strengthened well with Lukaku and it will also be very difficult.
– We must not lose sight of Viktoria Plzn, they have a different type of football to which we must adapt. But it is clear that there are three favorites.
Let’s move on to the reactions of Barcelona, the other Spanish team which did not smile on luck in this draw. The Catalans have been framed with Bayern, Inter and Viktora Plzen.
Pepe Castro, President:
– Talking about luck in the Champions League is very difficult, because there are only big teams, big teams. It’s a tough, powerful group where City will be close to winning, Dortmund are another good team that keep almost all their squad except Haaland and Copenhagen, which is a regular team in Europe.
– It’s a tough and exciting group where anything can happen. Last year with a benevolent group we did not pass and I am sure that this year we will have our chances in an exciting year.
– This year, it’s different because of the World Cup, but we have to adapt, we all have the same problems. I am excited and convinced that we will form a good group to qualify for the round of 16. Sevilla haven’t been there by chance, but on their own merits in recent years.
Monchi, sports director:
– Being in the Champions League pots, you can hardly find affordable rivals, but our group is probably one of the most complicated.
– It’s the Champions League. Affordable rivals are few. The favorite of the group is City for potential. With the departure of Witsel or Haaland, Dortmund seem to have lost potential but are very strong. Midfield with many possibilities. And Copenhagen is growing with a mix of African players.
– It’s not a group to be satisfied or happy with, but we have to try to be positive to try to qualify in the top two. After so many consecutive years in Europe, there is almost no rival that we did not know. Now we start with Copenhagen. We must face it with positivism, moral and courage because Sevilla must always try to give everything to be in the round of 16.
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