UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw HIGHLIGHTS: Group A the standout with Man City, PSG, Leipzig and Brugge
UEFA Champions League 2021-22 group stage draw: Group A stands out with its star-studded lineup. Jorginho of Chelsea and Alexia Putellas of Barcelona win the UEFA Men's and Women's Player of the Year award respectively.
Published : Aug 26, 2021 21:00 IST
Welcome to Sportstar's blog of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Group Stage Draw being held at Istanbul, Turkey.
With that we come to an end of this blog. Thank you all for joining. Goodnight and take care!!!
Jorginho wins the UEFA Men's player of the Year award for an outstanding campaign. A Champions League with Chelsea and the Euro with Italy.
10:52 pm - UEFA Women's Player of the Year award!!!
Alexia Putellas of Barcelona wins the Women's Player of the Year award for an outstanding season.
10:48 pm - UEFA Men's Coach of the Year award!!!
Thomas Tuchel wins 2020/21 UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award for his champions league winning campaign with Chelsea
10:47 pm - UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award!!!
Lluís Cortés wins 2020/21 UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award for his success with Barcelona!!
10:47 pm- Time for the final awards of the evening!!!
DRAW CONCLUDES!!!!
10:37 pm- DRAW RESUMES!!! (POT 4)
Group A: Manchester City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge
Group B: Atlético, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan
Group C: Sporting CP, Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas
Group D: Inter, Real Madrid , Shaktar, Sheriff
Group E: Bayern, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kyiv
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, BSC Young Boys
Group G: LOSC, Sevilla, Salzburg, Wolfsburg
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit, Malmo
10:35 pm- AWARD: UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season Winners- Men and Women!!!!
Erling Haaland of Dortmund and Jenni Hermoso of Barcelona clinch the UEFA Champions League Men and Women Forward of the Season award respectively.
10:25 pm- DRAW RESUMES!!! (POT 3)
Group A: Manchester City, PSG, RB Leipzig
Group B: Atlético, Liverpool, Porto
Group C: Sporting CP, Dortmund, Ajax
Group D: Inter, Real Madrid , Shaktar
Group E: Bayern, Barcelona, Benfica
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta
Group G: LOSC, Sevilla, Salzburg
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Benfica
10:23 pm- AWARD: UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season Winners- Men and Women!!!!
N'Golo Kante of Chelsea and Alexia Putellas of Barcelona clinch the UEFA Champions League Men and Women Midfielder of the Season award respectively.
10:15 pm- DRAW RESUMES!! (POT 2)
Group A: Manchester City, Paris
Group B: Atlético, Liverpool
Group C: Sporting CP, Dortmund
Group D: Inter, Real Madrid
Group E: Bayern, Barcelona
Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United
Group G: LOSC, Sevilla
Group H: Chelsea, Juventus
10:12 pm- AWARD: UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season Winners- Men and Women!!!!
Ruben Dias of Manchester City and Irene Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain) clinch the UEFA Champions League Men and Women Defender of the Season award respectively.
10:08 pm- DRAW BEGINS!!!! (POT 1)
Group A- Manchester City
Group B - Atletico Madrid
Group C- Sporting CP
Group D- Inter Milan
Group E- Bayern Munich
Group F- Villarreal (Europa League 2020-21 champion)
Group G- Lille
Group F- Chelsea (Champions League 2020-21 champion)
10:02 pm- HOW THE DRAW WORKS!!!
The teams will be selected from four seeding pots.
Pot 1 consists of holders Chelsea, UEFA Europa League winners Villarreal and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations who did not qualify via one of the 2020/21 titles; Pots 2 to 4 were determined by the club coefficient rankings.
No team will be drawn into a group along with a side from their own association.
The top two teams in each section advance to the round of 16, whilst those finishing third in each group transfer into the UEFA Europa League knockout stage, where they will face the UEFA Europa League group runners-up for spots in the last 16.
(Via UEFA)
9:58 pm- AWARD: UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season Winners- Men and Women!!!!
Edouard Mendy of Chelsea and Sandra Panos of Barcelona clinch the UEFA Champions League Men and Women Goalkeeper of the Season award respectively.
9:53 pm- Ivanovic's 2012 Chelsea teammate Michael Essien joins him on stage.
9:51 pm- Former UEFA Champions League winner with Chelsea, Branislav Ivanović is on stage now. He will assist with the draw.
9:49 pm- The audience gives a standing ovation to the medical personnel.
9:45 pm- The members of the on-site medical team, the UEFA Venue Medical Officers and the Danish national medical team, on stage right now receiving the well-deserved President's Award from Aleksander Ceferin. What an inspirational show of teamwork. A big thank you to them.
9:40 pm- A video showing personal insights from the medical team and captain Simon Kjaer on how they dealt with the situation.
9:36 pm- UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on stage to present the UEFA President's Award. As announced earlier, its Denmark captain, Simon Kjaer and the entire medical team, who tended to Christian Eriksen after his collapse at the Denmark vs Finland game at Euro 2020
9:33 pm- The ceremony begins with a preview of last season.
9:30 pm- AND WE ARE UNDERWAY!! LETS SEE WHAT WE HAVE IN STORE!!
9:15 pm- Know your potential award winners
Goalkeeper of the Season : Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Ederson (Manchester City), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) Defender of the Season : César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) Midfielder of the Season : Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jorginho (Chelsea), N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) Forward of the Season : Erling Haaland (Dortmund), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern), Kylian Mbappé (Paris)
Goalkeeper of the Season : Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea), Christiane Endler (Paris Saint-Germain), Sandra Paños (Barcelona) Defender of the Season : Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea), Mapi Léon (Barcelona), Irene Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain) Midfielder of the Season : Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona), Ji So-yun (Chelsea), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona) Forward of the Season : Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona), Jenni Hermoso (Barcelona), Lieke Martens (Barcelona)
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How many teams are involved in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw?
A total of 32 teams are involved in the draw. Twenty six teams have acquired direct qualification, with the final six berths being decided via the playoffs.
Country-wise breakdown of the teams
| Country | Teams |
| England | Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea |
| Spain | Atletico, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Villarreal |
| Italy | Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta, Juventus |
| Germany | Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, VfL Wolfsburg |
| France | LOSC Lille, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) |
| Portugal | Sporting CP, FC Porto, S.L Benfica |
| Netherlands | Ajax |
| Russia | FC Zenit |
| Austria | FC Red Bull Salzburg |
| Belgium | Club Brugge |
| Ukraine | Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Turkey | Besiktas J.K. |
| Switzerland | BSC Young Boys |
| Sweden | Malmo FC |
| Moldova | FC Sheriff Tiraspol |
How does the UEFA Champions League group stage draw work?
The teams will be split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 will consist of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations who did not qualify via one of the 2020/21 continental titles; Pots 2 to 4 will be determined by the club coefficient rankings.
No team can play a side from their own association. Any other restrictions will be announced ahead of the draw ceremony.
In the case of associations with two representatives, clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In the case of associations with four (or more) representatives, two pairings will be made. These pairings are to be based on TV audiences and will be confirmed ahead of the draw ceremony.
----VIA UEFA---
Here's a look at the four pots
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| 1. Chelsea (ENG) 2. Villarreal (ESP) 3. Bayern (GER) 4. Manchester City (ENG) 5. Atlético de Madrid (ESP) 6. Inter Milan (ITA) 7. Sporting CP (POR) 8. LOSC Lille (FRA) | 9. Real Madrid (ESP) 10. Barcelona (ESP) 11. Juventus (ITA) 12. Manchester United (ENG) 13. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 14. Liverpool (ENG) 15. Sevilla (ESP) 16. Borussia Dortmund (GER) | 17. Porto (POR) 18. Ajax (NED) 19. Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 20. Leipzig (GER) 21. Salzburg (AUT) 22. Benfica (POR) 23. Atalanta (ITA) 24. Zenit (RUS) | 25. Beşiktaş (TUR) 26. Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 27. Club Brugge (BEL) 28. Young Boys (SUI) 29. AC Milan (ITA) 30. Malmö (SWE) 31. Wolfsburg (GER) 32. Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) |
When will the UEFA Champions League start?
The Champions League group stage matches will kick off on September 14 and 15, with the final being held in Saint Petersburg, Russia on May 28 next year.
Where can you watch the UEFA Champions League draw?
| The 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony will be streamed live on UEFA.com. Viewers in India can watch the telecast on the Sony Ten network. Online streaming is available via the Sony Liv App. |