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Champions League Draw 2019-20: Winners and Losers After Group Stage Fixtures Set
August 29, 2019
The draw for the group stages of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League took place on Thursday in Monaco as Europe's top clubs discovered who they will face when the tournament gets underway in September.
Holders Liverpool were handed a favourable draw and will face Napoli, Salzburg and Genk in Group F, while runners-up Tottenham Hotspur take on Bayern Munich, Olympiacos and Red Star Belgrade.
The toughest draw looks to be in Group F where La Liga champions Barcelona will come up against Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague.
Here is a look at all of the groups followed by the winners and losers of Thursday's draw.
Winner: Manchester City
Premier League champions Manchester City will go in search of a first-ever Champions League triumph and will be heavy favourites to top Group C.
Pep Guardiola's side's toughest fixture in the group is likely to come against Shakhtar Donetsk. However, the Citizens will be confident of victory after beating the Ukrainian side 6-0 at home and 3-0 away in 2018-19.
The Athletic's Sam Lee was impressed with City's performance in Donetsk:
Manchester City also take on Dinamo Zagreb for the first time in their history:
The final team in the group is Serie A surprise package Atalanta. The club are in Europe's elite competition for the first time in their history after finishing third in Italy's top flight on a dramatic final day of action.
Manchester City are the strongest team in the group and will be expected to finish first. A comfortable group stage will be welcomed by the Citizens before the tournament hots up in the knockout stages.
Loser: Valverde's Job Security
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde looked set to lose his job last summer after overseeing another traumatic defeat from the Champions League.
The Catalan giants were dumped out by Liverpool in the semi-finals after throwing away a three-goal lead for the second season in a row:
Valverde may need to win the tournament this time around if he is to keep his job, and the club have backed their manager in the transfer market by bringing in Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong.
Yet Barcelona will have their work cut out reaching the knockout stages. Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund will provide a stern test and will see Barca come up against former striker Paco Alcacer:
The draw also sees Barcelona take on Inter Milan for the second season in a row. The Spanish champions beat the Nerazzurri 2-0 at the Camp Nou in 2018-19 but were held 1-1 at the San Siro.
Inter have since replaced manager Luciano Spalletti with Antonio Conte and brought in several new signings including Romelu Lukaku. Former Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez is also expected to arrive from Manchester United, per Simon Stone at BBC Sport.
Winner: Liverpool
Holders Liverpool go in search of a seventh European Cup and have little to fear in Group E against Napoli, Salzburg and Genk.
Napoli did beat the Reds 1-0 at the Stadio San Paolo last season, thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Lorenzo Insigne, but Jurgen Klopp's side gained revenge in the return fixture at Anfield.
Liverpool's trip to Salzburg will see two of their players facing a former club, as noted by reporter James Pearce:
Much will be expected of Liverpool as the defending champions, and they should have far too much quality and European experience for Salzburg and Genk.
Evening Standard correspondent David Lynch offered his view:
If Liverpool wrap their group up early it would also allow them to return their focus on the Premier League. The Reds were pipped to the title by a single point last season and can't afford any distractions.
Loser: Atletico's Defence
Atletico Madrid's defence will come up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus for a second straight season and can be forgiven for still having nightmares about the Portugal international.
Diego Simeone's side looked destined for the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season after a 2-0 first-leg win at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
However, Ronaldo proved he is the man for the big occasion in Europe once again in the return leg, bagging a hat-trick to send Juventus through 3-2:
Squawka Football noted how it was not Ronaldo's first hat-trick against Atletico:
Ronaldo seems to thrive against Atletico Madrid and it will be little surprise to see his name on the scoresheet again.
Juventus and Atletico are the strongest teams in Group D, and the two matches between the clubs could go a long way to deciding which team finishes first.