Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, he will be facing Lionel Messi again after Barcelona and Juventus were drawn together in Group G of the UEFA Champions League.
The Thursday draw also saw defending champions. Bayern Munich seeded in Group A. They will come up against another La Liga giant, Athletico Madrid after hammering Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals of last season’s edition. Other members of the group are FC Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.
On their return to Champions League football, Manchester United got drawn in the same group with last year’s finalist, Paris Saint-Germain, and semi-finalist, RB Leipzig. Turkish champions, Istanbul Basaksehir completes the group.
The pairing of Liverpool, goalscoring Serie A side, Atalanta, Dutch champions, Ajax, and newcomers FC Midtjylland look to be mouthwatering that could have a lot of goals in it, while Real Madrid will face a rejuvenated Inter Milan in Group B.
Barcelona’s new signing, Sergino Dest, will have to battle against his fellow countryman, Weston McKennie, who joined Juve this summer from Schalke 04 on an initial loan agreement.
Another mouthwatering clash that will be anticipated will be between Manchester City and Porto in Grou C, while Chelsea will face Europa League holders Sevilla in Group E.
The competition begins Oct. 20 and 21 while the final is scheduled for Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium on May 29.
Fans to be allowed to watch Champions League games
According to the statement from UEFA on Thursday, fans will be allowed in stadiums at 30% capacity depending on local government guidelines while away supporters won’t be admitted to matches until further notice.
“The UEFA Executive Committee today decided, following the successful pilot match that was held at the UEFA Super Cup in Budapest on 24 September, to allow the partial return of spectators for UEFA matches where local laws permit, starting from next week’s national team matches.
“The number of spectators will be capped at a maximum of 30 percent of the respective stadium capacity and away supporters will not be allowed into the games until further notice.
“Both the admission of fans and the capacity limit are subject to the decision of local authorities. UEFA matches cannot be played with spectators where local authorities do not allow it and the limit of 30% may be reached only where the limit set by local authorities is not lower, in which case such limit would apply.”
UEFA Champions League Group draw 20/21
Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, FC Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow
Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Monchengladbach
Group C: FC Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Marseille
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, FC Midtjylland
Group E: Sevilla FC, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes
Group F: Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Brugge
Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros
Group H: PSG, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir
