It’s the relaunch of the world’s elite football club competition! The UEFA Champions League group stage draw took place in Geneva, as Juventus, Inter, Atalanta, and Lazio discovered the opponents they’ll be facing once their European campaigns start. So how did the draw go for the four Italian sides?
Serie A reigning champions Juventus are the head of group G, but they will have some notorious company with five-time Champions league winners Barcelona, as football fans all around the globe will be thrilled to watch the first Messi vs Ronaldo encounter since the Portuguese’s 2018 departure from Spain. Also joining the group, Ukrainian runners-up Dynamo Kyiv and Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
On the other hand, Group D will offer football purists some mouthwatering matches, as EPL champions Liverpool are locked in with Dutch champions Ajax and last season’s dark horses Atalanta. The unlucky side to complete the fiery group are Danish champions Midtjylland. Expect some goals in this one.
Italian runner-ups Inter will have to encounter the competition’s undisputed greatest club Real Madrid in group B, as well as Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk and German side Borussia Moenchengladbach.
For their part, Lazio will be making their return to the Champions league after a 13-year absence, as last season’s European Golden-Shoe winner Ciro Immobile will be facing his former German employers Borussia Dortmund. Group F will also feature Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg and Club Brugge from Belgium.
In the rest of their Champions league group stage draw, defending champions Bayern Munich will take on Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in Group A.
A rematch from last season’s semi-final between PSG and RB Leipzig is on the table, as group H could be this season’s group of death in the presence of Manchester United.
In conclusion, while Juventus won’t be too thrilled to meet Barcelona early in the competition, they should count themselves lucky with the rest of the group not looking as much terrifying for the Italian champions. Lazio are another fortunate side in this draw as they find themselves in an evenly-matched group, and a qualification for the capital club doesn’t seem like an impossible task.
The less fortunate Italian sides in this Champions league draw are Inter and Atalanta who will have to negotiate their way to the second round through two complicated groups that are packed with some of the best teams in Europe.
