Defending champions, Chelsea will face Juventus as all four English teams are handed difficult groups in the Group Stage of 2021 Champions League.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues will kick-off their title defence in Group H alongside Juventus, Zenit and Malmo, having defeated Manchester City to win last season’s Final in May.
Chelsea’s placing with Juventus in the same group however is notable because after Chelsea won 2011-12 title, both teams were placed together in Group E in 2012-13 tournament with the Blues proceeding to crash out after finishing third in that group and went on to win that season’s Europa League title instead.
Last season’s losing finalists, Man City meanwhile find themselves in a blockbuster Group A where they will take on PSG, who they knocked out in the semi-finals as well as RB Leipzig and Club Brugge.
Manchester United’s reward for qualifying for this season’s tournament is a place in Group F where they are joined by Villarreal, who beat them to last season’s Europa League title on penalties, with both teams also set to face Atalanta and Young Boys.
Liverpool have been drawn in Group B alongside Atletico Madrid who had knocked Jurgen Klopp’s Reds out at Last 16 stage in 2019-20 season, with both teams joined by Porto and AC Milan of who Liverpool also have history with over the years.
Other highlights include Bayern Munich and Barcelona sharing Group E where they are joined by Benfica and Dynamo Kiev.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid are in Group D with Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sheriff Tiraspol.
Group stage matches will be spread across six midweeks with the first set of fixtures scheduled for 14-15 September 2021 and is set to conclude across 7-8 December 2021.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Manchester City | Atletico Madrid | Sporting Lisbon | Inter Milan |
| PSG | Liverpool | Borussia Dortmund | Real Madrid |
| RB Leipzig | Porto | Ajax | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Club Brugge | AC Milan | Besiktas | Sheriff Tiraspol |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
| Bayern Munich | Villarreal | Lille | Chelsea |
| Barcelona | Manchester United | Sevilla | Juventus |
| Benfica | Atalanta | RB Salzburg | Zenit |
| Dynamo Kiev | Young Boys | Wolfsburg | Malmo |
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