5 Interesting facts about the UEFA Champions League Draw

Monaco hosted the much awaited draw for the 2015-16 Champions League. Lionel Messi was once again awarded the UEFA Player of the Year Award for last season’s treble winning heroics.

Defending champions Barcelona are up against Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and BATE Borisov while their biggest rival Real Madrid will be facing the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo.

The 3rd Spanish side Atletico Madrid, finalists from 2014, will be tested against Benfica, Galatasaray and Kazakh debutants Astana, whereas FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Valencia, Olympique Lyonnais and K.A.A. Gent will complete the H group.

Arsenal are once again pit against old foes Bayern Munich, who knocked them out of the Champions League in 2013. They also face Greek champions Olympiakos and Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.

Manchester United on the other hand have a relatively easier path to the knockout stages with the match against Wolfsburg being the only challenging fixture of Group B.

Now, let us look at some interesting conclusions from this Draw.

5. GROUP OF DEATH

Group D

Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach.

D for Death, the group has pretty much lived up to its name. Manchester City face another tough test in the UEFA Champions League after being drawn with last year’s runners-up Juventus, Europa League winners Sevilla and German outfit who are also debutants- Borussia Monchengladbach in the group stage. City miserable luck in the draw continues and once again their hopes of qualifying to the knockout stages face a big obstacle just like the last year.

4. GROUP OF CAKEWALK

Group G:

Chelsea, FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Chelsea seems to be the happiest team after the draw .They are in Group G, which can be termed as the easiest group of this year. Jose Mourinho will face his old side Porto with them he won the competition in 2004. The Blues have some long trips on their calendar as they face Ukrainian and Israeli sides Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi Tel-Aviv respectively. Probably, the match against Porto is the only crunch battle they have to face. Chelsea have a great opportunity of making to the knockout stages easily.

3. Reunions In Champions League

1. Jose Mourinho to face Porto, he led them to the Champions League victory in 2004. Though this time around his main focus will be to bag all six points from the two fixtures. Mourinho will also unite with Iker Casillas, the Spanish captain who left Madrid this summer window.
2. Memphis Depay, up against his previous Club PSV. Memphis was named as the best player for PSV last season for scoring the maximum number of goals.
3. Angel di Maria will play against Real Madrid which might turn out to be an emotional affair, as he never wanted to leave the club but was forced to do so. Di Maria never enjoyed his stay at Manchester United and his move to PSG this transfer window was a direct result of this unsettlement.
4. Fernando Llorente will meet the Old Lady of Turin after joining Sevilla recently. He was clearly out of favor at Juventus and move away from the club was on the cards.
5. Other reunions include Zlatan with Malmo FC and Luis Enrique against his former side Roma.

2. Debutants In Champions League

FC Astana– They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League- top flight level of Kazakh football. Their home ground is the 30,000-seater, Astana Arena Stadium where they have been playing since 2009 mid-season.

Borussia Monchengladbach– They use the 54,057 capacity Borussia-Park, last season they came 3rd in the league which helped them secure the Champions League’s berth for the very first time.

KAA Gent- The third debutant this year are the Belgian Pro League Champions.

1. Nail-biting Fixtures