Champions League group stage preview: Messi and Ronaldo renew rivalry

The Champions League draw took place Thursday with the soccer gods giving us a tasty clash between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

For the first time in Champions League history, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face off in the tournament’s group stage after Barcelona and Juventus were drawn together in Group G.

The clash between Messi and Ronaldo, the two best players in the world over the past decade, highlighted Thursday’s draw that took place in Geneva.

Both Messi and Ronaldo will renew their rivalry after regularly doing battle in La Liga just a few years ago when the Portuguese star played for Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, the competition’s 32 teams were placed in eight groups with group play slated to start on October 20. Other highlights from the draw included defending champions Bayern Munich, the top seed in Group A, having to face Atletico Madrid, while last season’s runners-up PSG take on Manchester United over in Group H.

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Here is a preview of Groups A to H and the two teams from each that are favored to advance to the knockout stage.

Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, FC Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow

Holders Bayern, led by striker Robert Lewandowski, have the talent and quality to repeat, but they will need to get past Atletico Madrid first. The Spanish club have a proven track record of success in this tournament under coach Diego Simeone in recent years. Look for Bayern and Atletico to advance out of this group in that order.

Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Borussia Monchengladbach

Top seed Real Madrid are once again among the pre-tournament favorites to lift the trophy. The group’s three remaining sides will duke it out for second place. Inter Milan, runners up in last season’s Europa League, will be looking to striker Romelu Lukaku to power them past tricky sides like Shakhtar and ‘Gladbach.

Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos and Olympique Marseille

Manchester City, after another disappointing Champions League last season, are looking to make a statement early on that they intend to contend for the trophy. Porto and Olympiakos are evenly matched. Look for the two matches between the Portuguese and Greek sides to determine who finishes second.

Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta and FC Midtjylland

Liverpool, winners of this competition in 2019 and defending English champions, are heavily favored to finish tops in this group. Like in Group C, two teams, in this case Ajax and Atalanta, will contend for second place. The Italians went on a deep run last season, but Ajax have the tradition and pedigree to make a splash.

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Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar and Rennes

Sevilla, last season’s Europa League winners, were lucky to have been drawn into one of the tournament’s easiest opening round groups. They will have a tough test on their hands versus Chelsea, led by Christian Pulisic, while Krasnodar and Rennes are here to gain experience.

Group F: Zenit St. Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge

Another tough group, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are favored to finish first and second, respectively. Nonetheless, Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg will prove formidable this fall. This group also feature an interesting sub-plot: Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, last season’s Serie A top scorer, will face off against Dortmund, his former club.

Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros

What else can we say about this group. Aside from the mega-clash between Messi and Ronaldo, Barcelona and Juventus are two clubs that had disappointing tournaments last season. For the Italian champions, first-year coach Andrea Pirlo will have his work cut out for him. Barcelona, meanwhile, are also interested in some positive results early on. Will Juve win the group or Barca? It’s really tough call to make.

Group H: PSG, Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir

This could very well be the UCL’s “Group of Death” given that it features three teams that all have a realistic chance of finishing first. PSG, featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, will be seeking to reach the final once again. At the same time, RB Leipzig are looking to replicate last season’s semifinal run. But watch out for Manchester United. The English club could very well take the group.