Bayern face a tough but hugely attractive task in the preliminary stage of this season’s Champions League after the six-time winners were drawn to play Barcelona, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in Group C.
The draw for the first stage of Europe’s elite club competition was made in Istanbul on Thursday evening, and conducted on this occasion by former international stars Yaya Touré and Hamit Altintop, once of Bayern and now ambassador for this season's final venue of the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
As Bundesliga champions, Bayern were in Pot 1 and were placed in Group C. Barcelona and the Reds know each other well, with the men from Munich putting eight past Barça on the way to winning the 2019/20 Champions League. A reunion is on the cards with Robert Lewandowski having switched from Bavaria to Catalonia in the summer. Milan giants Internazionale are three-time winners of the competition, and Plzen are the current Czech champions.
Group stage overview:
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B: Porto, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Group C: Bayern, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
Group stage match dates:
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
Check back soon for more news and reaction to the draw!
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