The 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place on Thursday. The four pots are now set, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Barcelona in the elite-heavy Pot 2.
Shakhtar Donetsk confirmed their place as the 31st and final team for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage, following their extra-time win over AS Monaco.
The Ukrainian outfit became the first to benefit from UEFA’s decision to eliminate the away goals rule and subsequently scored in the ensuing extra-time to beat the Ligue 1 side. The game finished 2-2, and Shakhtar progressed to the group stage draw, thanks to a 3-2 aggregate win.
Roberto De Zerbi’s team will be in Pot 3 of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw, alongside heavyweights Porto, Benfica, Ajax, Atalanta, and RB Leipzig.
Meanwhile, most of elite will be in Pot 2, thanks to a freak season that saw the title in several top European leagues shift hands. Lille’s Ligue 1 title puts them in Pot 1 and pushes runners-up PSG into Pot 2. Alongside the Parisians, in the pot are Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.
2020/21 Champions League winners Chelsea are in Pot 1 and could find themselves in a nightmare scenario, in which they draw one or more of Europe’s elite. Last season’s Europa League winner Villarreal are in the same pot.
The draw will take place in Istanbul on Thursday, the rules for which are simple. No two teams from the same pot can be drawn in the same group, nor can two teams from the same nation.
