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Barcelona will face Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in Group C of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage after the draw was made in Istanbul on Thursday. It’s a very tough group for Xavi Hernández’s men, and qualifying for the next stage will not be an easy task.
⭐️ ⭐️
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2022
Bayern
Barcelona
Inter
Plzeň#UCLdraw
The headline matchup of the 2022-23 group stage is between Barça and Bayern, with Robert Lewandowski immediately returning to face the club he left this summer. These two teams met in the group phase last year, and Bayern dominated Barça in both games and sent the Catalans to the Europa League.
Barça’s last encounter with Inter Milan came in the 2019-20 group stage, with the Blaugrana winning both games under former manager Ernesto Valverde. Simoni Inzaghi’s side is full of talent and has had a strong start to this season, and playing at San Siro is never easy.
Viktoria Plzen return to Europe’s top competition after eliminating Qarabag in the Playoffs, and there is history between the Czech champions and Barça who met a decade ago in the 2011-12 group stage, with two dominant wins for the Blaugrana who were then coached by Pep Guardiola and had current Barça boss Xavi Hernández in midfield.
Below is the full draw, with eight very interesting groups and the promise of a lot of fun once things get going in September.
Group A: AFC Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers FC
Group B: FC Porto, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge
Group C: FC Bayern, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP, Olympique Marseille
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic FC
Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
What do you think of the draw, Barça fans? Leave your comments below!
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