Montecarlo – Excellent for Inter, good for Lazio, not so positive for Napoli and bad for Milan. The ballot box in Montecarlo, which revealed the composition of the groups, has given mixed emotions to the four Italians who will battle in the next Champions League which will start on Tuesday 18 September.
Different routes and degrees of difficulty because if the European vice-champions fromInterstarting from the second tier, they will face Benfica (among the most affordable in the first tier), Salzburg and Real Sociedad, – for a certainly not impossible group –, on the other bank of the Naviglio they certainly didn’t rejoice.
Starting from the third tier, Milan he will face Paris Saint-Germain (which however saw the departures of Messi and Neymar, the only positive note), Borussia Dortmund and that Newcastle who was certainly the most formidable opponent in the fourth tier. The Rossoneri’s group will also be a group with both sweet and bitter memories, with Donnarumma and that Tonali, who left Milan just over a month ago, who will rediscover their past.
And it didn’t go very well at the Naples, who being champion of Italy and therefore starting from the first tier, could have enjoyed, on paper, a better draw. Real Madrid, for which no introduction is needed, Braga and that Union Berlin which has become the new team of both Robin Gosens and above all Leonardo Bonucci, the neighbors of the Azzurri. For Rudi Garcia’s men it could certainly have gone better.
He can’t complain instead Laziosuch as AC Milan in the third tier, which will face Feyenord, among the least rated in the first tier, Atletico Madrid and Celtic Glasgow.
As for the other groups, everything was easy for the European champions Manchester City, Barcelona’s path was not very simple (with Porto and Shaktar), B was quite balanced with Arsenal in front of everyone, while in A Bayern Munich, Manchester United will play, with the bogeyman Galatasaray, three of the most “uncomfortable” of the fourth tier.
These are the compositions of the groups:
- GROUP A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray;
- GROUP B: Sevilla, Arsenal, Psv Eindhoven, Lens;
- GROUP C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin;
- GROUP D: Benfica, Inter, Salzburg, Real Sociedad;
- GROUP E: Feyenord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic Glasgow;
- GROUP F: Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Milan, Newcastle;
- GROUP G: Manchester City, Leipzig, Red Star, Young Boys;
- GROUP H: Barcelona, Porto, Shaktar Donetsk, Antwerp.
These are the dates instead
It starts on Tuesday 19 September with the first day of the group stage and ends on 1 June at Wembley, where the final will be played.
- GROUP PHASE: 1st day: 19-20 September; 2nd: October 3-4; 3rd: October 24-25; 4th: November 7-8; 5th: November 28-29; 6th: 12-13 December.
- ROUND OF 16: 13-14 February (first leg), 20-21 February (return);
- QUARTER-FINALS: 9-10 April (first leg), 16-17 April (return);
- SEMIFINALS: 30 April-1 May (one way), 7-8 May (return);
- FINAL: June 1 at Wembley.
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