Robert Lewandowski who recently crossed over to Barcelona after his long sujourn with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, has been pitched against his former club in the Champions league draw held today. He is not the only one that has been forced to ‘take arms’ against his former club as Erling Haaland who recently joined Manchester City will have to rise up against former club Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern and Barcelona will also come up against Inter Milan in Group C, which is completed by the Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.
Bayern beat Barcelona 8-2 in a one-off quarter-final in Lisbon in 2020, while the Catalans also lost 3-0 twice to the Germans last season as they were eliminated in the group stage.
Lewandowski, 34, signed for Barcelona during the close season for a fee that could reach 50 million euros (US$49.9m) after scoring 344 goals in eight years at Bayern.
Haaland left Dortmund for Premier League champions City in the close season. Those sides will also face Sevilla and Danish champions FC Copenhagen in Group G.
Last season’s beaten finalists Liverpool will play Ajax, Napoli and Rangers in Group A, while reigning champions Real Madrid will face Celtic as well as RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group F.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain who again start among the favourites to win a trophy that has continued to escape them since the Qatari takeover of more than a decade ago – will meet Juventus as well as Benfica and Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa in Group H.
Chelsea, winners in 2021, will take on Serie A champions AC Milan as well as Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb in Group E, while Tottenham Hotspur will face last season’s Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt along with Sporting Lisbon and Marseille in Group D.
Porto and Atletico Madrid meet for the second season running in Group B, which also features Bayer Leverkusen and Belgian champions Club Brugge.
This season’s group stage will begin with the first round of games on September 6 and 7
