Old foes and new matchups: the mission to defend the title will bring some exciting duels in the 2020/21 Champions League season. It all starts on 21 October (21:00 CEST) at home to Atlético Madrid. The first away trip of the campaign follows on 27 October (18:55 CET) at Lokomotiv Moscow, before the first half of the group stage ends with a visit to FC Salzburg on 3 November (21:00 CET). The action resumes on 25 November (21:00 CET) with the return match against the Austrians at the Allianz Arena. On 1 December (21:00 CET), Bayern travel to Madrid and the group stage ends with the home match against Lokomotiv on 9 December (21:00 CET). We have taken a closer look at Bayern's three opponents.
Atlético Madrid - Tradition-rich duel in Spanish capital
The first opponents are Atlético Madrid. The team from the Spanish capital finished in third place in La Liga last season and reached the Champions League finals tournament in Lisbon. Diego Simeone's side were eliminated in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 loss against RB Leipzig. So far, the men from Munich have played six times against Atlético, with an even record. The first meeting came in the 1974 Champions League final, when Hans-Georg 'Katsche' Schwarzenbeck secured a replay for Bayern with his sensational goal to make it 1-1 in the 120th minute. FCB went on to secure the first European Cup in their history with a convincing 4-0 victory. It would be over 40 years until the next meeting. In the 2015/16 UCL semi-final, Madrid advanced to the final thanks to the away goals rule. The first leg was a 1-0 win for Atlético, and the 2-1 win for Bayern in the return fixture was not enough. The following season, the two clubs met in the group stage, with the home team winning 1-0 each time and both teams advanced to the round of 16.
FC Salzburg - First competitive game against team from Mozart's city
It will be a first competitive meeting with second opponents FC Salzburg. Up to now, Bayern have only met the Austrians in friendlies. In the domestic league, Salzburg can look back on a strong run like FC Bayern, and have been champions seven years in a row since the 2013/14 season. Last year the club made its Champions League debut and finished third in the group stage behind Liverpool and Napoli. In the Europa League last 16, they exited the competition at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt. After 11 unsuccessful attempts, Salzburg were finally able to qualify for the Champions League via the play-offs this season after two wins against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Lokomotiv Moscow - Mother Russia calls
Last season's runners-up in Russia complete the group from pot 4. There have only been two games between FC Bayern and Lokomotiv Moscow, both of which were some years ago. In 1995, the two teams met in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Though the Russians were able to win the first leg 1-0, the eventual cup winners from Munich didn't hold back in the return fixture and secured progress with a 5-0 win. The Muscovites were also represented in the 2019/20 Champions League, but were eliminated after finishing bottom of their group. In the current season, the club are sixth in the Russian Premier League after nine matchdays.
The other groups at a glance
Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Mönchengladbach
Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiacos, Olympique Marseille
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, FC Midtjylland
Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, FK Krasnodar, Stade Rennes
Group F: Zenit St. Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Bruges
Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencváros Budapest
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir
This is what Bayern had to say about the UCL draw:
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