Istanbul: The draw of the UEFA Champions League group stage here witnessed Group C as the ‘Group of Death’, which contains Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen.
Humiliated 8-2 by Bayern in a one-off quarterfinal in 2020, Barca were twice beaten by the Germans last season as they failed to survive the group stage. Since then, Barca have made signings in an attempt to restore former glories. World-class striker Robert Lewandowski left Bayern for Barca in the summer, reports Xinhua.
Lewandowski, 34, signed for Barcelona during the close season for a fee that could reach 50 million euros after scoring 344 goals in eight years at Bayern.
“Only football writes such stories,” said Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
“Barcelona have got stronger. They’ve done a thing or two in the transfer market. There will be some exciting games,” Salihamidzic added.
However, Bayern have filled the vacancy left by the Pole with Sadio Mane from Liverpool.
Three-time European champions Inter hope striker Romelu Lukaku can rekindle his partnership with Lautaro Martinez after the Belgian endured a difficult time at Chelsea.
Inter have won just one knockout tie since claiming a 2010 treble under Jose Mourinho.
Czech champions Viktoria Plzen have never progressed from the group stage in three previous attempts.
Following is the draw for the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League group stage:
Group A: Ajax (Netherlands), Liverpool (England), Napoli (Italy), Rangers (Scotland);
Group B: FC Porto (Portugal), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium);
Group C: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic);
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Tottenham Hotspur (England), Sporting (Portugal), Marseille (France);
Group E: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia);
Group F: Real Madrid (Spain), RB Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Celtic (Scotland);
Group G: Manchester City (England), Sevilla (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), FC Copenhagen (Denmark);
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Maccabi Haifa (Israel).
–IANS
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