Osimhen’s Napoli Draw Real Madrid, Man Utd Face Bayern Hurdle
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
*Group F is ‘Death Zone’ with PSG, AC Milan, Dortmund and Newcastle
Duro Ikhazuagbe
Victor Osimhen and his Napoli teammates will face tricky trip to Santiago Bernabeu as they were paired with former champions Real Madrid, Braga and Union Berlin in Group C of the UEFA Champions League at the draw made yesterday.
Madrid are 14-time winners of Europe’s most coveted club trophy and will be gunning for their 15th when the group stage season kicks off on September 19.
Osimhen who led Napoli to their third Italian Scudetto after over three decades, scored 26 goals to emerge goal King in the tough Serie A.
Despite speculations all through the summer transfer window, the Nigerian international is going to continue from where he stopped for the Neapolitans.
Madrid are the favorites to top the group, leaving Napoli and the other two ‘outsiders’ to battle for the other ticket.
Elsewhere, Arsenal who are back in the competition for the first time since 2016-17, will face PSV Eindhoven and French club RC Lens, along with Europa League winners Sevilla in Group B, while Manchester City had easy draw in RB Leipzig, Swiss side Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade in Group G.
Manchester United on the other hand were drawn against German champions Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 1999 final, with FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray also making up Group A.
Along with Atletico Madrid, Celtic will play Lazio and Dutch champions Feyenoord in Group E.
Interestingly, Newcastle’s long-awaited return to Europe’s elite competition has been much anticipated after they finished fourth in the Premier League last season – but their draw could barely have been more difficult.
Eddie Howe’s side will play PSG, who reached the final in 2020, and seven-time European champions and last season’s semi-finalists AC Milan in Group F.
They will also play Borussia Dortmund, who won the competition in 1997 and most recently reached the final 10 years ago.
Group Stage Draw in Full
Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray
Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, RC Lens
Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Salzburg, Real Sociedad
Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
Group F: Paris St-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle
Group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys
Group H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Royal Antwerp
*The group stages will run from 19 September to 13 December, with the final at Wembley on 1 June.
