On Thursday evening, 15 time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid found out the eight opponents they will be playing in the league phase of the competition this season.
After two years without winning the trophy, everyone associated with Real Madrid is desperate to bring the UEFA Champions League back to the Spanish capital this season. Especially as the final will indeed be played in Madrid at the end of the campaign.
The league phase of the competition last season proved a bit of a toothache for the team, losing to Liverpool, Manchester City and Benfica, thus having to go through the play-offs and play Benfica - managed by Jose Mourinho at the time - two further times in order to progress.
So, the team will be hoping for a top eight finish this time. Well, the path to do so has today become a lot clearer, as the draw for the league phase was made just a few minutes ago.
Real Madrid's draw is as follows: Inter Milan (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), RB Leipzig (home), Shakhtar Donetsk (away, but to be played at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away).
The games will not necessarily be in that order, but that is how they have been drawn for now. The kick off dates and times are still to be confirmed, so stay tuned for more updates on that.
For anyone confused regarding the game away to Shakhtar Donetsk, due to the omgoing war in Ukraine, they have not played home games in Europe for nearly five years now. They have played games in Gelsenkirchen (Germany), and Warsaw (Poland), and now will be playing at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea in London.
The Premier League side did not qualify for the Champions League, nor any other European competition this season, so the stadium is pretty free in midweek. So, there you have it.
Not a bad draw. Arsenal away is arguably the toughest game you can get, but other than that it is not too bad. Handy to avoid a game against Bayern Munich. Will certainly be interesting to see what sort of reception Vinicius Jr gets at the Emirates, considering their attempts to sign the player this summer, before he signed his new contract at the Bernabeu. Two games in London for the team.
It will be great to have a game at Roma's iconic Olympico stadium. The last time the Italian side were in the Champions League, back in 2018/19, they played Real Madrid in the group stages, with Los Blancos winning both games to nil.
We will keep you updated once the dates and times are confirmed.
