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Lewandowski, Haaland to face former clubs in Champions League

Istanbul, Aug 25 (EFE).- Two of the summer’s highest-profile signings, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, will face their former teams in the group stage of the 2022-2023 Champions League, while the draw Thursday in Istanbul landed holders Real Madrid with RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic.

The Poland captain will find himself opposing Bayern Munich, where he won eight Bundesliga title and hoisted the Champions League trophy once. The Norwegian must prepare to go up against his erstwhile teammates at Borussia Dortmund.

Liverpool, last season’s losing finalists, can look forward to doing battle with Ajax, Napoli and Rangers.

Because the 2022 World Cup is set for November and December, the six matches of the Champions League group stage will be packed into an interval of less than two months, instead of the usual three.

Play begins Sept. 6-7 and the group stage will wrap-up on Nov. 1-2. The knockout stage will start in mid-February and the final is scheduled for June 10 in Istanbul.

Groups

A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers

B: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Bruges

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

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

E: AC Milan, Chelsea, RB 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

EFE jap/dr

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