There is a dream called football

Chapter 169 Champions League Group Stage Draw

After playing the weekend games, Benitez is about to fly to Zurich. He brought captain Gerrard with him. The draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage will be held in Zurich, which is related to the fate of many giants.

The other players watched the draw ceremony at the training base. For everyone, the draw means whether they can go further in the Champions League.

There is a so-called death group in the Champions League every year, and no one wants their team to fall into the death group.

But Li Qiao was thinking about something else. He hoped that one day, he would be by the head coach's side instead of Gerrard, or the two would go hand in hand.

The most beautiful draw this time is of course Mourinho. He led Porto to create a miracle last season, and this season he came to Chelsea again, setting off a wave of Premier League.

The moment Jorge Costa handed over the Champions League Big Ears Cup to UEFA means that this season's Champions League has officially started.

Infantino was talking non-stop. He was introducing some statistics of last season's Champions League, such as a record high attendance rate and so on.

Then the topic changed, and it was the matter of this season.

"This season, there are still 32 teams competing in the Champions League. In May next year, the final will be held in Istanbul, Turkey. We will wait and see who will win the championship. The draw will begin next. Guests are welcome."

The guests are some former football bigwigs, such as Su Ke, and George Weah.

Although Liverpool entered the UEFA Champions League after qualifying, UEFA team classification is based on historical points, and Liverpool, which has won the Champions League 4 times, is naturally in the first pot, which is the seed team.

The first step is to classify the seeded teams, which is to divide the 8 seeded teams into 8 groups.

In the end Liverpool entered Group A.

Benitez chuckled. I don't know if this is a good thing. It depends on the formation of the second-tier team.

There are many strong teams in this category, such as Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, and Juventus in Italy.

The guest held a small ball in his hand, and Infantino smiled and said, "This team will enter Group A, let's take a look."

When the guests announced the results, applause broke out in the audience, because the runner-up of last season's Champions League - Monaco - was drawn.

But at this time, Monaco, like Porto, was bought out, so Monaco, which was runner-up in the Champions League, is no longer the Monaco of last season.

So Benitez is actually happy, and this opponent has made a profit.

"Steven, what do you think of this opponent?"

Gerrard laughed: "The away game to France may be a bit difficult."

"Ah."

From the perspective of last season, Monaco was very fierce at home, but the away game was basically a team with a big belly, and even the Russian team could not win.

The lottery continues.

The camera is frequently shown on Mourinho's face, trying to capture some information, but Mourinho is very calm, without too much expression.

Tier [-] team.

This is also very critical. Group A where Liverpool is in should not produce a group of death, but for other groups, a group of death may be formed immediately, and the third place generally determines the group of death, because the teams in the fourth tier are generally too weak.

"La Coruña."

Benitez shook his head. As a Spaniard, he knew very well that Depor was a strong team.

Later fans may not know Deportivo, but in the first few years of the new century, Deportivo was a strong European team and won the La Liga championship.

In fact, in Benitez's mind, this is the second-tier team.

It is the turn of the fourth tier team. The teams in this tier are generally from Eastern Europe, and their strength is relatively average.

In the end, the fourth team in Group A was Olympiakos in Greece, and all four teams in Group A were also produced.

Liverpool.

Monaco.

La Coruña.

Olympiacos.

The first game is Liverpool playing Monaco at home on September 9.

After the result of the draw, Benitez accepted a brief interview with reporters. He was still very cautious. This was his first season in Liverpool. He said that his goal was the top 8.

"I don't dare to think about being a champion for the time being. It would be nice to be able to enter the quarterfinals."

When asked who was the strongest in the group stage, Benitez pointed to Deportivo, "I played against them when I was in Spain, a very strong team, a typical Spanish team."

Mourinho was the most arrogant at the press conference. He said that his goal is still the championship.

The reporters are quite used to the madman's arrogance, and if he stops being arrogant, everyone will be shocked.

The group opponents have been formed, so Benitez is relieved, and the next step is to prepare for the league.

Back in the league, Liverpool beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0, and then there are two more crucial games, the first is the Champions League game, and the other is the game against Manchester United.

As we all know, in the Premier League, the Double Red Club has a long history and is also a game that many fans talk about.

Manchester United and Liverpool are also the two most successful teams in England's top league, so Benitez is more important to the next round of the league match with Manchester United than the Champions League group stage.

*****
In the tactical class after training, when Benitez put small red circles on the tactical board, the players were still a little puzzled.

"Head, isn't Monaco's jersey white with red straps?"

"Yes, but did I say this is Monaco?"

sweat.

In the middle of the week is the first match of the Champions League against Monaco. The boss is not preparing for the match against Monaco. What is that?
Benitez tapped the tactical board, "This is Manchester United."

"But United's game is on the weekend."

"Yes, so we should start preparing now, shouldn't we?"

Everyone understands that Benitez looks down on Monaco at all, but it's no wonder that Monaco's player turnover is very serious at this time, and their results in Ligue [-] are mediocre, while Manchester United is a strong force.

Benitez talked endlessly, and the players felt strange, because even if Monaco became weaker, they had to be prepared.

Unexpectedly, Benitez left a sentence after finishing his tactics, "We will also play the same way in the midweek game, and practice with Monaco."

"..."

Players like Steven Gerrard in the team are very understanding, they know the importance of the Double Red Club, and of course Li Qiao also understands, because I read a lot of reports on this later, and even Neville of Manchester United turned his face on the spot when he received a Liverpool jersey from the host on the show.

Gerrard stood up and clapped his hands. "I think what the head said is right. We can't lose to Manchester United or Everton. In Liverpool, this is a matter of principle."

At this time, everyone could only nod their heads.

(End of this chapter)