Having let Lukaku go back to Milan’s city rivals Inter on loan, Chelsea have plugged the gap in other areas of the pitch. They will be another tough foe, having made a fair few changes this summer. ChelseaĬhelsea re a team that Milan have only faced twice in the Champions League, with both ending in draws. If the Rossoneri were to draw the Merseyside outfit again, it could easily turn in Milan’s favour.
#The hardest decisions require the strongest wills plus
Yes, they will be tough, but this is the same team plus Milan’s new acquisitions facing Liverpool (except Kessie) having being crowned champions and knowing how Liverpool play. With that all being said however, Milan could do worse than to be in the same group as Liverpool again. They did also sign a couple of exciting young players, namely Fabio Carvalho and have inserted Harvey Elliott into the first team after his injury last season. However, they did sign the fantastically talented Darwin Nunez, previously of Benfica who has started off the Premier League season mixed, with some great goals but some also not so great discipline on show. They lost a very important piece in Sadio Mane (more on him later) now at Bayern Munich, and as of writing they have not yet signed another midfielder, that most will say they are in dire need of. What is different this year, if Milan were to be drawn against Liverpool once more? Well, not a huge amount in Liverpool’s case. The home fixture was also positive, although we lost (again by a one goal margin) there was plenty to be happy about and it was clear that the team could hold their own against one of Europe’s best right now. In short, Milan played valiantly, with players who have not experienced the atmosphere and pressure and to lose by only 1 goal was a fantastic effort. What makes it more interesting is that Milan were winning ongoing into half time, and it had to take a wonder strike from Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson to settle the game. The very first game back in the champions league was an away fixture at Anfield – one of the toughest environments and atmospheres to play in world football. We have to bear in mind that besides Zlatan and Kjaer among one or two others, no one had any Champions League experience. However, this is not all bad news for the Rossoneri, this is because although they lost both of the fixtures against Liverpool last season, it was far more positive than negative. Compared to the mid 2000s we know that Milan are not quite at the same level, whereas right now Liverpool can boast one of the best teams and systems in world football currently. What makes it more interesting is that we were placed in the commonly dubbed ‘Group of Death’ in last year’s campaign (the club’s first in over a decade) where we faced off against Liverpool. Having faced them in the 2005 UCL final with ‘that’ result in Istanbul, and then revenge in the Champions league final two years later in 2007 on a memorable night in Athens – these two clubs have history. Without further ado, here are the teams that Milan could face from pot two… LiverpoolĪ very recognisable foe for the Rossoneri is Liverpool. In theory therefore, the Pot 2 teams will be the hardest Milan will face on paper and that is why this article will analyse what these teams are all about, the changes they have made in the summer and the likelihood Milan will overcome them. Pots two to four are then determined by the club coefficient rankings. Pot one consists of the UCL holders (Real Madrid), the Europa League winners (Eintracht Frankfurt) and the champions of the nations ranked highest by UEFA who have not earned a place by winning either of those tournaments. The teams are first split into four seeding pots and each group will have one team from each pot. This year’s competition follows the tried and tested UCL formula that has been around for a few decades (except for the very recent and very minor away goal rule change).Įight groups of four teams will be drawn.
This list will omit Juventus and only analyse seven teams, and this is because UEFA do not allow teams within the same country to face off in the groups. The UEFA Champions’ League group stage draw takes place in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Thursday 25 August and will be streamed live from 18:00 CET. In this article, the 2022-23 Champions League draw will be explained, the pots will be outlined and most importantly the top teams Milan could face this year will be analysed.