The UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2023/2024 has finally been set up. Eight teams of four had been drawn on Thursday, 31 August. Honestly, there are some groups that aren’t exciting, there are some that could be interesting, and there’s one amazing group that almost everyone will be looking forward to.
The Champions League itself is a tournament for the best clubs in Europe. There are allocations for each league and previous European tournament winners. With the amount of good teams and talents in Europe, this can very much be considered as my favorite yearly tournament.
However, this system of the Champions League will be the last as UEFA has set up a new system, which will probably be more relevant to talk about later. Spoiler in my opinion: UEFA just wants more money and more games, and the good system that we have now doesn’t need to change.
As it will be the last one and with the unexpected results of the draw the other night, I want to review all the phases of the tournament this year to appreciate my favorite tournament and the last of this format.
What’s to come on the Group Stage will be something to look forward to and talk about. However, let’s understand how the draw works before we get into that.
So, let’s get into it!
How UCL Draws Work?
So, the UCL draws happened after every participant for this year was determined. Thirty-two teams will participate in this year’s draws.
This team was divided into four pots of eight teams. The eight best-seeded teams, including last season’s UCL and Europa League winners and some league winners, will be in Pot 1. Pot 2, 3, and 4 were determined by the club coefficient ranking, as per UEFA.
Now, for the draw, there’s going to be eight groups of four. This group can’t be consisted of teams from the same regional league. The group will also need to be consisted of one team from each pot.
It was as easy as that and this is how the groups sets up:
Group A
Group A consisted of Bayern München, Manchester United, FC København, and Galatasaray. I think this is a pretty decent group.
Bayern München had a good start in the Bundesliga. They also managed to get good transfers and build a good team. I assumed they would be the group winners. At least, they will go through to the Knockouts.
Manchester United could be the runner-up of the group. They had a bit of a shaky start to their season and some injuries as well. However, I think they would still make it over the other two with the qualities they have.
FC København are doing well in the Danish Superliga. But, the probability of them going through with this kind of group is minimal.
Meanwhile, Galatasary’s form had been good and they do have some pretty good transfers as well. Playing them at home will be the hardest challenge for the other teams because the atmosphere itself is hard to beat. They could be the underdog in this team.
Group B
Group B consisted of Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, and RC Lens. This could have been a dark horse group but I think the results could be so obvious that it becomes uninteresting.
Sevilla currently isn’t good at all. They have also always not been good at UCL. I don’t think they will do anything for this season as well.
Arsenal also has a bit of a shaky start to their season. However, I still think they will top this group if they focus throughout the game, of course.
PSV, I think, could be the second one to qualify for this group. Their start to the season is good and they are in good form as well.
Meanwhile, Lens in Ligue 1 is doing as badly as Sevilla is in La Liga. I don’t think they will do well in the UCL as well.
Group C
Group C consisted of Napoli, Real Madrid, SC Braga, and Union Berlin. A lot of people will think, “This should be obvious!” but I think it’s not.
Napoli are doing well in Serie A. After winning the Scudetto last year, I think they still have it in them to fight. Even though some players left and Spaletti decided to leave and become the Italy National Team manager instead, they managed to keep their scoring duo, which is Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, at the club. So, I think they will do well in the tournament.
Real Madrid could have been a favorite if not for their list of injuries and lack of depth. It was concerning, especially with the absence of Courtois and Militao for the season and Vinicius for some matches. They still had good points in their league so far without them. So, this could be interesting to know how their season will go. You can’t count them out in UCL.
Meanwhile, I think SC Braga doesn’t stand a chance against these teams. They had good form without playing any big teams. The last big teams they played were Porto and Benfica and they lost to both of them. So, I don’t fancy their chance.
Union Berlin is doing well in the Bundesliga as well. They managed to get a good result last year in the league and go to the Europa League’s Knockout Stage. However, this is their first ever UCL campaign so lack of experience could be a downside. Their game will be a factor for Napoli and Real Madrid’s charge to the Knockout Stage.
Group D
Group D consisted of Benfica, Inter Milan, RB Salzburg, and Real Sociedad. This also doesn’t look exciting but I always think this kind of group will give an extra bit of fun at the end of the group stage.
Benfica could be one of the teams going through. They’re not doing that good for away games now. However, they had been doing well in UCL and were the underdog teams in the two last seasons.
Inter Milan, I reckon, will be winning this group. They currently have a good form and are doing well in Serie A so far.
RB Salzburg are doing well in their league now. However, the last big club they faced was coincidently Inter and they lost. So, much like Braga, I don’t fancy their chance as well.
Real Sociedad are a bit of a confusing team. They could be good, lots of time just decent, but they could also just be not. Whatever mode they choose to do for these games will be key to making different results in this group.
Group E
Group E consisted of Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, and Celtic. This doesn’t excite me as much even though it could give late drama as well.
Feyenoord is the Eredivisie reigning champion. However, they do not exactly have a good start to the season.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid has a good start in their La Liga campaign. Last year, they got an early exit from a group that wasn’t that good. But, they also aren’t as good as they are now. So, I think they’ll top this group.
Lazio are also a team with a bad start to their season. Their form also isn’t good. Yet, another team that isn’t looking good in this group.
Celtic’s start of the league is good but Premiership’s results don’t reflect well in UCL. So, this concludes how I don’t know who the second club will be and why I’m not looking forward as much to this group.
Group F
Group F consisted of Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and Newcastle United. This is the most exciting group for most football fans because all four are kind of big names and have qualities.
PSG are not in the position they want for the start of the league. Of course, it was also influenced by Mbappe not appearing in some matches. Now, that everything is resolved and Enrique is in charge, I think they could be good for UCL. I still don’t know what will happen to them. Even with the squad they had before, they’re a bit sloppy in an away game on European football night.
Dortmund are in a similar position as PSG. The difference was they had the same team from the start of the season and without some players from their last Bundesliga campaign. So, they could be decent but probably not enough. I still believe they will give the other teams a tough game, especially with Signal Iduna Park’s atmosphere.
AC Milan is the only one from this group that is currently in great form. They build a good squad and are doing well in Serie A. They’re the only ones I believe should definitely go through in this group, as long as there are no injuries.
Newcastle is a side that isn’t familiar with European football but is considered a good team after last season. However, their form in this Premier League season is declining so much. They scramble against better sides so I don’t fancy their chance with these giants. I still think they will give a good fight against them, especially with two other teams that aren’t as consistent as well.
Group G
Group G consisted of Manchester City, RB Leipzig, FK Crvena Zvezda, and Young Boys. This isn’t an interesting group because the result will be obvious.
Manchester City will still be the favorite for the titles. They are playing well in the Premier League as they’re now topping the table. Of course, they will topped this group as well.
RB Leipzig will probably be the runner-up. They’re actually in decent form. Last time, they won against Bayern and lost by a point against Leverkusen, which currently topped the league. So, I think they will bring a decent fight in this group against City.
Crvena Zvezda is doing good in Serbia’s Super Liga. However, UCL nights for this kind of team are not it. So, not fancy anything for them.
Young Boys also has a decent start in Swiss’s Super League. Much like Crvena Zvezda, I don’t think they will do well against the other two teams.
Group H
Group H consisted of Barcelona, FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Royal Antwerp. I don’t think this will be exciting as well because, like before, the results should be obvious.
Barcelona should top this group. They had a decent start in La Liga and had some good transfers. They should do well against these other opponents.
FC Porto will probably be second in this group. They had a good start in Liga Portugal as well. However, Barca’s squad quality is better. I still think they will be the team that could give a tougher game for the Spanish sides.
Shakhtar Donetsk did have a good start in their league. But, they’re not good enough when they played other sides from other leagues. So, I don’t think they will do well.
Lastly, Royal Antwerp are doing decent in their league as well. However, with Barca and Porto around, this will not probably be giving them and Shakhtar good results.
How’s and When’s The Group Stage?
So, now that the group is set, the UCL’s Group Stage will also be underway soon.
There are going to be six matches that will be played by each club. They will play in a home and an away match against every club in their group. A win will give them three points, a draw will give them a point, and a loss will not give them any.
The two teams with the most points in each group will go through to the Knockout Stage. If there’s a tie, the order will first be determined by goal difference. If it’s still a tie, there are other tiebreakers to help figure out the order, from goals scored in the two matches among teams in question to UEFA club coefficient ranking. This was based on the official tournament regulation.
The Group Stage itself will start on 19 September and ends on 13 December. Specifically, it will be on 19 and 20 September, 3, 4, 24, and 25 October, 7, 8, 28, and 29 November, and 12 and 13 December.
It will be a long and, hopefully, more interesting ride than I thought.
Final thought: So, my favorite yearly tournament will be back! Whatever happens, it will still be exciting to watch every match. Of course, I don’t think I will watch every match because kick-off was mostly after midnight in my country. However, I am going to stay updated for every match, especially for my team. Fingers crossed for them as well! If you’re a football fan and haven’t come across UCL or you’re a newbie to the sport, I will suggest watching this with this current unconfusing format. It’s genuinely a joy! (P.S. except in stressful moments of plays when you watch your team)
Good luck to everyone for this year. May the best team wins.
