Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan in group of death as Liverpool draws Rangers
• Benzema wins UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award
Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will compete in Group C, which has been described as the group of death in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League.
At yesterday’s group stage draw held in Istanbul, Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers were picked to compete in Group A, while Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Leverkusen and Club Brugge are in Group B.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Italian coach, Arrigo Sacchi, was presented the yearly President’s Award by UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin.
Former Turkish-national right back, Hamit Altintop, brought the UEFA Champions League trophy to the stage, as 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Ambassador.
Altintop then joined former Ivoirian midfielder, Yaya Toure, to draw the lots. The matchday one games will be played on September 6 and 7, while matchday six will hold on November 1 and 2, after which the round of 16 draw will be held on November 7.
In Group D are Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting Lisbon and Olympique Marseille, while AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb make up Group E.
Defending champions, Real Madrid are in Group F alongside Leipzig, Shaktar Donetsk and Celtic, just as Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen are in Group G.
In Group H are Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema, has won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award after his stellar 2021/22 season.
Club teammate, Thibaut Courtois, who was named man of the match for his heroics in May’s Champions League final win over Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, were named on the final shortlist. But the gong was awarded to Benzema at the draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage in Istanbul yesterday.
The France international led Los Blancos to their 14th Champions League title, popping up with big goals at vital moments in knockout round ties with PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City when his team needed him most.
UEFA Men’s Player of the Year With UEFA’s top prize now in his possession, his sights will now be set on claiming the Ballon d’Or in October. Benzema is widely expected to become the first Frenchman since Zinedine Zidane to take home the award.
