Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will meet for the first time since the latter’s transfer to Turin from Real Madrid two years ago
Barcelona will face Juventus in the group stage of the Champions League after they were paired in Group G in the draw, which took place in Geneva on Thursday.
The heavyweight match will see Cristiano Ronaldo take on Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for the first time since he moved to Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
The two men, who have shared 11 of the last 12 Ballons d’Or between them, enjoyed a historic rivalry in La Liga and will resume hostilities in the elite European competition next month.
Barça and Juve have joined Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros in Group G, the Hungarian team that beat Celtic en route to qualification for the main draw for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s return to the Champions League has been marked with a draw against last year’s Champions League finalists PSG, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in Group H.
Reigning champions Bayern Munich will meet Atlético de Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A for a place in the round of 16, having won the trophy for the sixth time by beating PSG 1 -0 in Lisbon on August 23.
The official result of the #UCLdraw! 🤩
The most exciting match of the group stage? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/d7ynuEjPq3
– #UCLdraw (@ Champions League) October 1, 2020
Group D will see 2018 winner Liverpool, who suffered a surprise early exit at the hands of Atlético last season, face Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.
Real Madrid, 13 times champions, have been unlucky in Group B alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Manchester City got a more favorable draw against Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille in Group C as they attempt to win the competition for the first time in their history once again.
The last English team to qualify from the Premier League was Chelsea, who will play Europa League champions Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes, who will make their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage, in Group E.
In Group F, Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge will battle it out, with the 2020-21 edition of the Champions League scheduled to start on October 20/21, with matches continuing until early December to decide who will participate. . get to the last stage of 16.
.
