The path seems strewn with traps this season, interrupted by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (November 20-December 18).
From the beginning of September to the beginning of November, we force most of the greats to play every three days. That unusual schedule will push the final back to June 10, 2023.
The Olympic stadium will bring good memories to Liverpool, proclaimed champion in that venue in 2005 at the end of a legendary game. And less good for Milan: they beat the Reds 3-0 at half-time in that memorable final before being drawn 3-3 and falling on penalties.
That blow could have caused a lifetime of trauma to the then 'Rossoneri' coach, Carlo Ancelotti. But since then, the coach has won three Champions Leagues, one with Milan (2007) and two with Real Madrid (2014, 2022), setting a new record for victories as a coach (four titles).
It is difficult not to see Real Madrid, 14-time European champion, as the great favorite in this new edition, a status ratified by its top-seeded rank and its presence in pot one on Thursday in the traditional draw for the eight groups of four teams. The white club can count on its captain Karim Benzema, scorer again on August 10, to win the European Super Cup and the UEFA Award for best player of the season... Waiting for the Ballon d'Or in October.
As champions of their respective leagues, PSG, City, Bayern, and Milan appear alongside Real Madrid in the first pot, so they will not face each other in the group stage.
In pot two, there will be another heavyweight like Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool, winner of the tournament in 2019 and finalist last season at the Stade de France (1-0).
The Reds indeed lost the Senegalese Sadio Mane, who headed to Munich. Still, with the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, the Colombian Luis Diaz, and the Uruguayan Darwin Nunez, their attacking line remains one of the most powerful on the continent. Among the contenders will also be Thomas Tuchel 's Chelsea, the European champion in 2021, Antonio Conte's Tottenham, Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus, Diego Simeone's Atletico de Madrid, as well as Xavi's Barcelona.
A relevant fact is that in the first stage, you cannot cross clubs from the same country, so each one will be in different pots and will go to the next group in the draw. This could be the "group of death":
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