Barcelona - Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool - Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain - Bayern, Real Madrid - Manchester City, Chelsea - Barcelona, Bayern Munich - Chelsea, Real Madrid - Juventus, Inter - Liverpool, Inter - Arsenal, Atletico Madrid - Inter, Liverpool - Atletico Madrid...
These are just some of the most spectacular pairings from the first phase of this season's Champions League.
NEW CHARM OF THE FIRST PHASE
Last summer, UEFA introduced a real mini-revolution and changed the competition system in the Champions League, just like in the other two club competitions, the Europa League and the Conference League.
The group competition system was replaced by a league, actually one large group - one table, of 36 teams...
Each team plays eight games, two against opponents from all four pots, four at home and four away.
If this kind of competition has gained additional charm, the draw may have lost that charm, but in any case - the computer determined the pairings...
And he also determined who the three Montenegrin elite footballers will play against.
Nikola Krstović's Atalanta will thus play away to the current Champions League winner, Paris Saint-Germain, and will welcome Chelsea - and those are the only two rivals of the team from Bergamo in the top category. "The Goddess" will also play away to Frankfurt and Marseille, and will welcome Athletic Bilbao, Club Brugge...
Marko Janković's Qarabag will face Liverpool away, Chelsea at home, Benfica in Lisbon, Ajax in Bukavu, Napoli in Italy...
Vasilije Adžić's Juventus plays, among others, with Real Madrid in Madrid, Borussia and Benfica at home, Villarreal away... They will also welcome debutant Pafos of Cyprus.
In addition to Bayern and Barcelona, reigning champions PSG will also face English teams Tottenham and Newcastle, as well as Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen - a tough draw for the "Saints", who struggled to make it to the 24 teams that advanced last year, and then shone in the knockout stage.
The top eight go directly to the round of 9, teams ranked 24th to XNUMXth will play through the play-off phase, the rest are eliminated...
SIX TEAMS FROM ENGLAND
The Premier League has the most representatives - six clubs after the top five qualified last season: Liverpool, Arsenal, City, Chelsea and Newcastle, along with Europa League winners Tottenham.
There are three debutants in the elite, along with Pafos from Cyprus, there are also Bode from Norway, as well as Kairat from Kazakhstan.
The first round of the Champions League is scheduled for September 16, 17 and 18, while the final round of the league stage is scheduled for the last week of January.
The knockout phase begins in February, while the final will be played on May 30th at the "Puskas Arena" in Budapest, during the day - at 18 pm, which is a novelty introduced by UEFA yesterday due to, as it pointed out, the fans' experience and previous experiences.
See all the Champions League matches HERE.
Bonus video:
