The group stage draw for the 2021/22 Champions League season was held in Istanbul on Thursday, with the five Spanish sides in this year’s competition learning their fate. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have very tough group stages ahead, Villarreal will need to go up against Manchester United again, Real Madrid have an almost identical draw to last year and Sevilla will feel optimistic about their chances of returning to the competition’s knockout rounds.
For Barcelona, they’ll have to contend with Bayern Munich and also face the threat of a Benfica side challenging for qualification. Atletico, meanwhile, are in one of the most even groups as they’ll meet Liverpool, Porto and AC Milan.
One of the other most difficult groups is Group A, where Manchester City and PSG will go up against each other. Should Cristiano Ronaldo complete his rumoured move to the English champions, we could see the latest chapter of the No.7’s eternal battle with Lionel Messi.
This is the 2021/22 Champions League group stage draw in full:
Group A: Manchester City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge
Group B: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan
Group C: Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas
Group D: Inter, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sheriff Tiraspol
Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys
Group G: Lille, Sevilla, RB Salzburg, Wolfsburg
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo
