Manchester City and Manchester United now have a clearer understanding of who they could face in the group stages of next season's Champions League after City's triumph in the competition on Saturday evening in Istanbul.
City were crowned champions of Europe for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan. Midfield enforcer Rodri scored the only goal of the game, sweeping home the winner with just over 20 minutes of normal time left on the clock.
It ensured the Blues completed an incredible Treble, matching United's achievement from the 1998/99 campaign. It means they will have ambitions of now becoming a dominant force in Europe and retaining their Champions League crown next season.
Even though City would have been in Pot 1 anyway because of their Premier League title victory, winning the Champions League this season means they will be the jewel in the crown in the draw. They have been joined in Pot 1 by Europa League winners Sevilla, who they will face in August in the UEFA Super Cup final.
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City and Sevilla, who beat United on their way to winning the Europa League, will be joined in Pot 1 by the champions of the top six European leagues, plus Feyenoord, who won the Eredivisie. They have been promoted from Pot 3 due to City winning the Premier League.
Pot 2 contains some of Europe's biggest clubs, including United, Premier League rivals Arsenal and Real Madrid. They have been joined in the second pot by the likes of beaten finalists Inter and Borussia Dortmund.
Pot 3, at the time of writing, only contains five clubs so far, with the three remaining clubs to be decided once the qualifying campaign has reached its conclusion. As things stand, Spanish side Real Sociedad, who shared a Europa League group with United this season, are the only already-qualified club who do not yet know which pot they will be in. They are, though, guaranteed to be in either Pot 3 or Pot 4.
As things stand, four clubs already feature in Pot 4, including Newcastle United, who secured a fairytale return to Europe's premier club competition after an outstanding 2022/23 campaign under Eddie Howe. The Magpies have so far been joined in the pot by Celtic, Union Berlin and Lens.
Champions League group stage draw pots so far:
Pot 1:
- Manchester City
- Sevilla
- Barcelona
- Napoli
- Bayern Munich
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Benfica
- Feyenoord
Pot 2
- Real Madrid
- Manchester United
- Inter Milan
- Borussia Dortmund
- Atletico Madrid
- RB Leipzig
- FC Porto
- Arsenal
Pot 3:
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- FC Salzburg
- AC Milan
- Lazio
- Red Star Belgrade
Pot 4:
- Celtic
- Newcastle United
- Union Berlin
- Lens
As ever, the eight Champions League groups will each consist of four clubs, featuring one from each pot. Clubs from the same country cannot be pitted against each other in the group stages, meaning United cannot be drawn against City and Barcelona cannot be pitted against Real Madrid, for example.
However, it is possible that either United or City could face Scottish champions Celtic, as well as Rangers, should the latter qualify for the competition. The draw for the 2023/24 Champions League group stages will be made on August 31.
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