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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Jamie Braidwood

Champions League draw: Liverpool face Rangers while Man City’s Erling Haaland gets Dortmund reunion

AFP/Getty

Liverpool will face Rangers in an all-British clash in the Champions League group stages, as the draw also set up an immediate reunion between Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and his former side Borussia Dortmund.

Liverpool and Rangers were also drawn with Ajax and Napoli in a tough Group A, while Manchester City will face Sevilla and Copenhagen as well as the Bundesliga side Dortmund.

But the English sides were handed a fair draw overall. Chelsea will play Italian champions AC Milan but their group also includes FC Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb - while Tottenham were drawn with Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille on their return to the Champions League under Antonio Conte.

Celtic will play the holders Real Madrid, along with RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk, while the group of death sees Barcelona take on Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, as Robert Lewandowski also faces a trip back to his former side.

Rangers qualified for the Champions League group stages for the first time in 10 years after defeating PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs on Wednesday, joining Celtic to ensure there were two Scottish sides in the competition for the first time since 2007.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side showed on their run to the Europa League final that they do not fear anyone at Ibrox, and will welcome the challenge of last season’s defeated finalists Liverpool as well as big European names in Ajax and Napoli – two sides Jurgen Klopp’s team have also met in recent years.

City’s draw is not easy, with Sevilla having an excellent European record and Borussia Dortmund the strongest available side in pot three. But it sets up the story of Haaland returning to Dortmund, the club where he scored 13 Champions League goals in as many appearances before his summer move to the Premier League.

Elsewhere, England’s Euro 2022-winning manager Sarina Wiegman won the Uefa women’s coach of the year award for leading the Lionesses to home glory this summer, with Carlo Ancelloti receiving the men’s award for guiding Real Madrid to their 14th Champions League title.

Karim Benzema beat Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne to the Uefa men’s player of the year award while Alexia Putellas won the women’s prize for the second year in a row, beating off competition from England forward and the Euro 2022 golden boot winner Beth Mead.

Full Champions League group stage draw

Group A

Ajax

Liverpool

Napoli

Rangers

Group B

Porto

Atletico Madrid

Bayer Leverkusen

Club Brugge

Group C

Bayern Munich

Barcelona

Inter Milan

Viktoria Plzen

Group D

Eintracht Frankfurt

Tottenham

Sporting Lisbon

Marseille

Group E

AC Milan

Chelsea

FC Salzburg

Dinamo Zagreb

Group F

Real Madrid

RB Leipzig

Shakhtar Donetsk

Celtic

Group G

Manchester City

Sevilla

Borussia Dortmund

Copenhagen

Group H

PSG

Juventus

Benfica

Maccabi Haifa

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