It’s that time of the year again – the Champions League is here. Well, almost. At least, we got to know what to expect from this season as the Champions League draw 2018 took place in Monaco.
It seems ages since we last heard THAT Champions League anthem, isn’t it? After a crazy month full of even more crazy World Cup action, one can understand why.
Real Madrid, as usual, are the defending champions. But do you know what would not be usual from now on? Cristiano Ronaldo donning the classic white Real Madrid shirt and scoring goals like a machine.
He’ll do that for Juventus, probably.
In case you didn’t know, there are 32 teams who participated in today’s draw. They are put in eight groups of four teams each, from which two teams will go through to the next round – the round of 16.
Teams in each group play each other twice – one at home and one away, making it 6 matches per team.
Now that you know how it works, let’s move on as to how the draw works.
Also Read: The Greatest Champions League Comebacks Of All Time
The 32 teams are placed in four pots of eight each. One team from each pot will be placed in each group. Note that no teams from the same country can be drawn in the same group.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the pots:
Pot 1: Real Madrid (ESP), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Barcelona (ESP), Bayern Munich (GER), Manchester City (ENG), Juventus (ITA), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS)
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund (GER), Porto (POR), Manchester United (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Napoli (ITA), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Roma (ITA), Benfica (POR)
Pot 3: Liverpool (ENG), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Schalke 04 (GER), Lyon (FRA), Monaco (FRA), Ajax (NED), CSKA Moscow (RUS), Valencia (ESP)
Pot 4: Club Brugge (BEL), Galatasaray (TUR), Young Boys (SUI), Inter Milan (ITA), Hoffenheim (GER), AEK Athens (GRE), Red Star Belgrade (SRB), Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Here is how it panned out in the Champions League draw 2018:
Group A
Teams – Atletico Madrid (ESP), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Monaco (FRA), Club Brugge (BEL)
Teams we expect to qualify – Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund
Key match – With two opposite ideologies battling it out against each other, Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund would be my pick for the key match.
Group B
Teams – Barcelona (ESP), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Inter Milan (ITA)
Teams we expect to qualify – Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur
Key match – This seems to be an obvious one – Barcelona vs Tottenham to decide the first place. If Harry Kane can strike early for Tottenham, Barcelona could be in trouble.
Group C
Teams – Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Napoli (ITA), Liverpool (ENG), Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
Teams we expect to qualify – Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool
Key match – This was a tough call, but I’d go for PSG vs Liverpool just because of the sheer talent that will be on the pitch, especially on the attacking end of the pitch.
Group D
Teams – Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS), Porto (POR), Schalke 04 (GER), Galatasaray (TUR),
Teams we expect to qualify – Porto and Schalke 04
Key match – In what is a relatively low-key group, Schalke 04 vs Galatasaray could decide who would take the second place in the group.
Group E
Teams – Bayern Munich (GER), Benfica (POR), Ajax (NED), AEK Athens (GRE)
Teams we expect to qualify – Bayern Munich and Ajax
Key match – Bayern Munich vs Ajax would be my game to watch as the playing styles of both the teams would ensure an exciting clash.
Group F
Teams – Manchester City (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Lyon (FRA), Hoffenheim (GER)
Teams we expect to qualify – Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk
Key match – Any match which has Manchester City would be a good one to watch, but my key match would be Shakhtar Donetsk vs Lyon to decide the second place.
Group G
Teams – Real Madrid (ESP), Roma (ITA), CSKA Moscow (RUS), Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Teams we expect to qualify – Real Madrid and Roma
Key match – After what Roma pulled off against Barcelona last season, Real Madrid vs Roma would be my pick for the match to watch.
Group H
Teams – Juventus (ITA), Manchester United (ENG), Valencia (ESP), Young Boys (SUI)
Teams we expect to qualify – Juventus and Valencia
Key match – In case you didn’t notice, Juventus vs Manchester United means Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford yet again, which is why it would be my pick for the key match.
Aaaaaand it’s a wrap.
While the return of Ronaldo to Old Trafford would grab plenty of headlines, Group C promises to be full of goals. Group B looks like the group of death in this draw as Barcelona, Tottenham, PSV and Inter Milan will fight it out for two places.
That’s it folks!
Image Credits: Google Images
