UEFA Champions League 2023-24: Group stage teams, fixtures and more revealed
The group stage draw for the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League took place in Monaco on Thursday, August 31. 32 teams across Europe were drawn into eight groups of four.
Here are the final groupings:
Group A: Bayern (GER), Man United (ENG), Copenhagen (DEN), Galatasaray (TUR)
Group B: Sevilla (ESP), Arsenal (ENG), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Lens (FRA)
Group C: Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Braga (POR), Union Berlin (GER)
Group D: Benfica (POR), Inter (ITA), Salzburg (AUT), Real Sociedad (ESP)
Group E: Feyenoord (NED), Atlético de Madrid (ESP), Lazio (ITA), Celtic (SCO)
Group F: Paris (FRA), Dortmund (GER), Milan (ITA), Newcastle (ENG)
Group G: Man City (ENG), Leipzig (GER), Crvena zvezda (SRB), Young Boys (SUI)
Group H: Barcelona (ESP), Porto (POR), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Antwerp (BEL)
The draw has given rise to some interesting matchups. Two of Europe's biggest teams, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, will go head-to-head in Group A, while Real Madrid and Napoli are set to lock horns in Group B.
Early signs have marked Group F as the 'Group of Death', with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Newcastle United making up a competitive group.
The likes of Manchester City and Barcelona have comparatively easier pathways in Group G and Group H, respectively.
While the full fixture list is yet to be released, UEFA has revealed the dates of each matchup in the group stage. They will be:
Matchday 1: 19/20 September
Matchday 2: 3/4 October
Matchday 3: 24/25 October
Matchday 4: 7/8 November
Matchday 5: 28/29 November
Matchday 6: 12/13 December
The draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League will be held on December 18.
Champions League will not have longer added times - UEFA chief
UEFA chief of football, Zvonimir Boban, stated that the games in the Champions League this season will not follow the pattern of having inflated added times towards the end of each half.
This comes after a directive by the International Football Association Board that suggested longer stoppage times to avoid time wasting. Initially seen during the 2022 World Cup, it has been adopted by multiple domestic leagues this season, including the Premier League.
However, Boban insisted that the tournament would continue to follow UEFA's norms for added time. He emphasised the need for player safety, saying:
“Regarding player welfare, it’s some kind of small tragedy or big tragedy because we are adding almost 12, 13, 14 minutes, we are adding almost one half of the game which are very tough minutes to play. When you play 60, 65 minutes, when you get tired it’s the last 30 minutes of the game. And then somebody comes and adds another 15, 12, 14 minutes of the game, for what reason?
UEFA head of referees Roberto Rosetti also chimed in on the situation. He pointed to the fact that Champions League games had a higher effective playing time of over 60 minutes as compared to any other top domestic league.