I have been disappointed that Brøndby did not manage to qualify to the Champions League after two defeats to Red Bull Salzburg. It was probably for the better, as Brøndby has started the season really bad, and may struggle both in the Danish League, as well as in the Europa League (which they will play). Despite this, there are now many reasons to look forward to the Champions league following today's group draw:
Group A:
- Manchester City
- Paris St. Germain
- RB Leipzig
- Club Brugge
Messi's new club, PSG, against Guardiola's Manchester City, in its continuous search for European glory, alongside always-strong RB Leipzig and a Club Brugge that can only surprise!
Group B:
- Liverpool
- Atletico Madrid
- AC Milan
- Porto
There is no way around it: this is a group of giants; AC Milan, who is finally back in the CL for the first time since 2014, alongside Liverpool and the Spanish champions of Atletico Madrid, who always have ambition for the title, and Porto, who can always defeat anyone. This group will be impossible to predict.
Group C:
- Sporting Lisbon
- Besiktas
- Borussia Dortmund
- Ajax Amsterdam
Not likely that the future champions will come out from this group, but an interesting group nevertheless, where Borussia Dortmund are probably favourites (still with Erling Haaland?), but with all other teams surely with a chance, all champions of their respective leagues in Portugal, Turkey and the Netherlands.
Group D:
- Inter Milan
- Real Madrid
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sheriff Tiraspol
Two giants from Inter and Real Madrid are huge favourites in this group, where Shakhtar and Sheriff will hopefully be able to upset the two giants.
Group E:
- Bayern Munich
- FC Barcelona
- Benfica
- Dynamo Kiev
Another group with only giant clubs. The "new" Barcelona will likely struggle to show how good they are without Messi. Bayern Munich are surely huge favourites in the group, as the others appear quite even in terms of fighting for the second spot in the group.
Group F:
- Villarreal
- Manchester United
- Young Boys
- Atalanta
The two finalists from the Europa League will face one another again, with Manchester United appearing as a team that has become stronger since then (and soon with Cristiano Ronaldo). Atalanta though, is a team that has shown that they can defeat anyone. Young Boys may struggle to compete.
Group G:
- Lille
- Sevilla
- RB Salzburg
- VfL Wolfsburg
The French champions from Lille and ever-ambitious Sevilla appear as the favourites in this group, but in particular Wolfsburg could surprise.
Group H:
- Chelsea
- Juventus
- Zenit St. Petersburg
- Malmo FF
It is great to see good ole' Jon Dahl Tomasson back in the Champions League, although this time as manager of the Swedish champions of Malmø, who will have to play their best in this group against the defending champions of Chelsea, the Russian champions of Zenit, and mighty Juventus