Champions League group stage draw LIVE! Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool learn fate

Champions League draw - LIVE!

With less than two weeks until the Champions League group stage gets underway, the 32 teams in the hat found out their opponents. All six group-stage matches will be played in the space of two months, before European football takes a break ahead of the World Cup.

Manchester City and Liverpool are the two favourites for this season’s competition, with Pep Guardiola in particular desperate to finally win the competition with City, while Chelsea have a strong record under Thomas Tuchel and Tottenham return to Europe’s top table. There is plenty of Scottish interest too, with Rangers and Celtic featuring in the group stage together for the first time since the 2007/08 season.

Defending champions Real Madrid will always be confident of continental success, and PSG will hope their star-studded frontline can at last inspire the club to a first Champions League title.

A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugges

C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen

D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille

E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb

F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic

G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen

H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa

Champions League draw latest news

• Tottenham get dream draw on Champions League return

• Liverpool face tough test including Rangers

• Chelsea draw AC Milan and Salzburg

• Man City face Dortmund for Haaland reunion

Good draw for Spurs...

18:30 , Matt Verri

That wraps up our coverage of the Champions League draw!

Tottenham were handed a dream Champions League group on their return to the competition after being drawn with Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille, while Chelsea will face AC Milan, Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb.

Back in the competition after a two-year absence, Spurs avoided domestic champions Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain after being drawn with Europa League winners Frankfurt from the top seeds, as well as the runners-up from Portugal and France.

Chelsea also landed a relatively kind group and will be expected to battle for top spot with Milan, who have former Blues players Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud in their ranks.

Read the full story!

Putellas and Benzema awarded

18:20 , Matt Verri

And now for the individual awards.

Alexia Putellas the Women’s Player of the Year, with Karim Benzema picking up the men’s award.

Beth Mead perhaps unfortunate to miss out.

Carlo Ancelotti is Men’s Coach of the Year

18:16 , Matt Verri

“Last season was a special season.

“There was a special connection between the experienced and the young players, then a fantastic chemistry with the supporters in our stadium.”

Sarina Wiegman named Women’s Coach of the Year

18:10 , Matt Verri

“It’s really nice to receive this great award, I am honoured and humbled. This award is really for everyone involved with the England team, the FA, the staff and most of all the players.

“Our fans have been very great too, so thank you fans for supporting us so much. Hopefully we’ll qualify for the World Cup and enjoy the game.”

Groups in full!

18:04 , Matt Verri

A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugges

C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen

D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille

E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb

F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic

G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen

H: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa

18:02 , Matt Verri

That wraps up the group-stage draw.

Tottenham with a dream draw really, Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille. All winnable and not much travel at all.

Chelsea and Man City a bit more difficult, while Liverpool probably have the toughest draw. Ajax, Napoli and Rangers. Atmosphere not going to be a problem in any of those games!

Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Plzen

18:00 , Matt Verri

Thoughts and prayers all round.

Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa

17:59 , Matt Verri

One group to go...

Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb

17:58 , Matt Verri

That concludes Chelsea’s group... mixed bag.

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

17:57 , Matt Verri

Now that is a very, very fun group!

Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge

17:56 , Matt Verri

All to play for in Group B, it would appear.

Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen

17:55 , Matt Verri

Competitive group but City will fancy their chances for sure.

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille

17:54 , Matt Verri

Spurs fans barely need to get on a plane!

Group F: Real Madrid, Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic

17:53 , Matt Verri

Celtic are off to the Bernabeu this season!

17:52 , Matt Verri

Final pot. Time to conclude the draw.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan

17:50 , Matt Verri

WOW.

Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk

17:49 , Matt Verri

One team to go in Pot 3...

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting Lisbon

17:49 , Matt Verri

This is all going very well for Spurs on their return to the Champions League.

Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen

17:47 , Matt Verri

Looks a very open group.

Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund

17:47 , Matt Verri

Haaland and Dortmund together again!

Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica

17:46 , Matt Verri

Don’t think it’s unfair to say Benfica won’t be particularly delighted with that.

Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg

17:45 , Matt Verri

Salzburg can go into any of the remaining seven groups. How exciting.

It’s Group E for them, joining Chelsea and Milan.

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli

17:44 , Matt Verri

Napoli the first team out from Pot 3.

And they got into Group A, Liverpool will be off to Italy.

Group B: Porto, Atletico Madrid

17:41 , Matt Verri

And that is that for Pot 2.

Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea

17:41 , Matt Verri

Only one option for Chelsea... into Group E they go alongside AC Milan.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona

17:40 , Matt Verri

Toure very excited as he draws Barcelona. Better be careful, they’ll sign him if he carries on like that. They don’t need much encouragement.

Maybe not after that draw... Barcelona up against Bayern!

Group G: Manchester City, Sevilla

17:39 , Matt Verri

Not too bad for City either.

Group A: Ajax, Liverpool

17:38 , Matt Verri

Liverpool will be pretty satisfied with that too, particularly once Man United have bought the entire Ajax side.

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham

17:37 , Matt Verri

Here we go... Tottenham are out of the bowl! Five possible options in terms of groups for them.

And that is a great outcome!

Group H: PSG, Juventus

17:35 , Matt Verri

Only two possible options for Juventus, due to the various rules. That already looks like a fun group.

Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig

17:35 , Matt Verri

The German side join the defending champions in Group F.

17:33 , Matt Verri

Right, time for Pot 2. Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea all about to find out their first opponent.

Group H: PSG

17:32 , Matt Verri

And that wraps up the fun for Pot 1!

Group G: Manchester City

17:31 , Matt Verri

Group F: Real Madrid

17:31 , Matt Verri

The defending champions have arrived.

Group E: AC Milan

17:30 , Matt Verri

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt

17:30 , Matt Verri

And that opposite is probably true for Group D!

Group C: Bayern Munich

17:29 , Matt Verri

Everybody already quite keen to avoid Group C.

Group B: Porto

17:28 , Matt Verri

Group A: Ajax

17:28 , Matt Verri

Doesn’t really mean much at the moment, does it.

17:27 , Matt Verri

That will come later... WE ARE READY!

Pot 1 teams are about to be drawn. Let’s get this started.

17:27 , Matt Verri

Hmmm. We’ve been had a bit. Now having a look at all the teams in Pot 1, which I assume will then happen for the other 24 sides.

We’re definitely getting closer, that much is true. How close remains to be seen.

17:24 , Matt Verri

We get a random voiceover explaining the rules for the draw, rather than Mr Marchetti. Shame.

Basically there’s four pots, eight teams in each one. Teams can’t be drawn against other clubs from the same country.

Certain teams have also been paired, to ensure they play on separate nights for TV coverage reasons. Barcelona and Real Madrid, Chelsea and Tottenham and so on.

Let’s get this started.

HERE WE GO!

17:21 , Matt Verri

Just who we all wanted to see! Giorgio Marchetti has arrived - as we know this is very good news. The main man for an occasion like this.

He can’t help himself explaining every possible rule, but we’ll allow it. We’re getting close to the draw actually happening.

17:19 , Matt Verri

“I think Man City are going to have a chance this season,” Toure says when asked if his former club are capable of winning the Champions League.

“To be honest with their resource I think they can get what they need. It’s not going to be easy for them but I wish them good luck.”

Very diplomatic. Also says he already feels part of the Tottenham “family” after arriving as a coach.

17:15 , Matt Verri

”Start the draw” is heard across Europe, but the wait continues. I fear it’s barely begun.

Hamit Altintop brings the Champions League trophy onto the stage, as ‘THE CHAMPIONS’ chorus gets blared out for the tenth time already.

Next up? Well it’s Yaya Toure of course.

17:13 , Matt Verri

Interview happened in Italian but we can assume he said what an incredible honour it is to win such a prestigious award. Not sure the words ‘career highlight’ featured though.

Very impressive Italian from Reshmin Chowdhury, best thing to have happened so far.

17:10 , Matt Verri

Arrigo Sacchi is receiving the UEFA President’s Award. Can only assume that will mean more to him than his Serie A title and two European Cup medals.

Maybe not. Good news, we might get to find out. Sacchi is the latest to make the walk up onto the stage.

Onto the awards

17:07 , Matt Verri

And finally... Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the final. Great. On we go.

Turns out we’re going to have a bit of an awards ceremony. Not at all what anybody is here for.

Aleksander Ceferin onto the stage to address the masses.

17:04 , Matt Verri

What better way to start proceedings than with a full, and I do mean full, look at last season’s competition.

We’ve just about made it through the group-stage montage. Onto the knockout stages we go.

Spoiler alert for those who haven’t got round to watching it yet - Chelsea lost in the quarter-finals to Real Madrid.

It. Is. Time.

17:01 , Matt Verri

Here we go then, over to Istanbul we go as the ceremony gets underway.

Fingers crossed we get to the actual draw some time before Christmas.

Rangers and Celtic to be avoided?

16:56 , Matt Verri

Off to Turkey

16:53 , Matt Verri

Istanbul is hosting this evening’s draw, with the final taking place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium next June.

Liverpool fans will be very keen to return to Istanbul for a Champions League final...

Waiting almost over

16:44 , Matt Verri

Just over 15 minutes to go until we get this draw up and running.

Inevitably there will be a meet and greet with every player to have ever played in the Champions League, but we’ll get through it together.

Hopefully.

Possible draws

16:37 , Matt Verri

Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all in Pot 2, so a bit vulnerable to a tricky draw.

PSG, Inter Milan and Celtic a potential draw for the three of them... wouldn’t be particularly thrilled with that.

They’d me much happy with Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Maccabi Haifa!

Slight mistake there...

16:31 , Matt Verri

Liverpool and Manchester among the options in this little Tottenham graphic.

As will be explained about 3000 times ahead of the draw, clubs from the same country cannot face each other in the group stage.

So we can cross Liverpool and Manchester off the list of possible destinations for Spurs.

Mood is high at Spurs

16:23 , Matt Verri

Safe to say Tottenham fans are very excited to have their team back in the Champions League.

Spurs are the second most-backed club for this season’s competition with Betfair, behind only Manchester City. Optimistic. Very optimistic.

Latest Champions League odds:

Man City: 11/4

Liverpool: 5/1

PSG: 6/1

Bayern Munich: 7/1

Barcelona: 12/1

Real Madrid: 12/1

Chelsea: 12/1

Tottenham: 16/1

Inter Milan: 25/1

Juventus: 33/1

Celtic: 250/1

Rangers: 250/1

Via Betfair.

Strong Scottish representation

16:17 , Matt Verri

Rangers are in this evening’s draw, after they beat PSV last night to book their place in the group stage.

It’s been both Rangers and Celtic are in the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2007/2008 season.

The pair are in pot 4 and will be hoping for some combination of big European trips and winnable games!

Real the defending champions

16:10 , Matt Verri

Now would be a good time to briefly look away Liverpool fans.

Real Madrid will be looking to defend their Champions League title this season, after victory in Paris over Liverpool.

Here’s how they did it...

Not long now...

16:04 , Matt Verri

Less than an hour to go until the ‘ceremony’ is due to get underway.

Then we all keep our fingers crossed that the talking is kept to a minimum and we get straight to the draw.

Don’t bank on it though.

Group stage schedule

15:57 , Matt Verri

All six matchdays will be completed by November 2, around five weeks earlier than usual, with games being played in three back-to-back week chunks to get it all done before the World Cup.

Matchday 1: 6/7 September

Matchday 2: 13/14 September

Matchday 3: 4/5 October

Matchday 4: 11/12 October

Matchday 5: 25/26 October

Matchday 6: 1/2 November

Pots for group stage draw

15:49 , Matt Verri

Pot 1

Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Man City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax

Pot 2

Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham

Pot 3

Borussia Dortmund, Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Benfica, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen

Pot 4

Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Marseille, Copenhagen, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa

How to watch Champions League draw

15:39 , Matt Verri

TV channel: The draw will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1.

Live stream: BT Sport subscribers can watch the draw via the BT Sport app or website, while the draw will also be broadcast for free via Uefa’s YouTube and social media channels.

Live blog: Or just follow it all right here with us!

Good afternoon!

15:31 , Matt Verri

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of the Champions League group stage draw!

The 32 teams in the hat - or various bowls - have been confirmed, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham the English representation, while Celtic and Rangers are also both in the draw.

We’ll have all the build-up and then full coverage of the draw, which comes at 5pm BST from Istanbul. Stay tuned!