The anticipation among Liverpool supporters is palpable after the UEFA Champions League draw was made on Thursday.
After missing out on the tournament last year, the Reds secured their golden ticket to compete in Europe’s premier club league with a third-place finish domestically last term.
Now that Arne Slot’s side know which eight teams they’ll face in the competition’s unwieldy new ‘league phase’, along with the order of the fixtures, let’s look at the challenges which await LFC, including a couple of bouts against fellow European footballing royalty.
Follow Empire of the Kop on Instagram (@empireofthekop) HERE
Liverpool’s record in the European Cup/Champions League is legendary. The Reds have proven that they can conquer Europe, having lifted the trophy on six occasions, the last of which came in 2019.
By leading LFC to three finals in the competition (winning one), Jürgen Klopp made the Merseysiders a major force in European football once again.
At the outset of a new season, everyone is eager to see how far Liverpool can advance, especially avid bettors who visit bookies not on GamStop to make more informed bets where they can discover a host of bonuses and sign up offers.
Currently, the odds for Liverpool winning the Premier League are at 13/2, but as every football fan knows, things can change in this game very, very quickly. Is it time for another legendary chapter in the Reds’ Champions League history to be written?
READ MORE: Transfer insider: Liverpool are already planning to strengthen in one position in January
A new-look Champions League meant a new-look draw format for the competition, with Liverpool now facing eight different opponents once (four at home, four away) rather than three clubs twice in a single group.
The Reds’ fellow Pot 1 opposition are RB Leipzig and holders Real Madrid, who won the trophy for a record-extending 15th time earlier this year. From Pot 2, we were drawn against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and, 20 seasons on from an iconic final in Istanbul, AC Milan.
Lille and PSV Eindhoven emerged as LFC’s Pot 3 opponents, and from Pot 4 Arne Slot’s team were paired with two tournament debutants in Bologna and Girona, who stunned Serie A and LaLiga respectively with their lofty finishing positions last term.
On Saturday, Liverpool fans discovered the order in which they’ll face those eight teams as UEFA published the fixture schedule for the Champions League.
The Reds begin their tournament away to AC Milan on Tuesday 17 September, having won at the San Siro three years ago, before hosting another Italian club in Bologna at Anfield on Wednesday 2 October.
A trip to Leipzig awaits on Wednesday 23 October, with Xabi Alonso making his return to Merseyside with Leverkusen on Tuesday 5 November.
The standout tie of the league phase sees Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield on Wednesday 27 November, hoping to avenge a 5-2 defeat on Los Blancos’ last visit to L4. Matchday 6 sees a first-ever clash away to Girona on Tuesday 10 December.
The expanded format now sees two matchdays added in January, with the Reds hosting Lille on Tuesday 21st and concluding the league phase away to PSV on Wednesday 29th.
All of the above kick off at 8pm on the dates specified, apart from the Girona game which has a 5:45pm start.
Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa were Liverpool’s two summer signings towards the end of the transfer window, although some supporters were unhappy that the centre-back and defensive midfield positons weren’t addressed in the market.
The Reds’ defence has improved in the opening weeks of the new season, with clean sheets in their first two Premier League games, although the backline wasn’t as impenetrable last term as 41 top-flight goals were conceded.
However, Chiesa supplements an already fearsome attack which can blow teams away, and Slot has plenty of class to call upon in midfield if (and it’s been a big if) everyone is fit and available.
Now that Liverpool’s European path has been mapped out to the end of January, their performances in those games will determine how far they can progress on their return to the Champions League.
The Reds will be aiming for a prolonged run in the competition and are hopefully ready to write another epic chapter in their European history, with a squad boasting the quality to compete at the highest level and a head coach with substantial tactical acumen.
With all due respect to the teams that Liverpool faced in the Europa League group stage last year, the Champions League draw has thrown up fixtures which are far more likely to generate excitement among fans.
The meetings against Real Madrid and Milan in particular will evoke memories of past finals (for better and for worse), while Alonso’s return to Anfield with Leverkusen also comes with an intriguing narrative, as do first-ever meetings against Bologna and Girona.
Equipped with a high-quality squad and a past which exudes European grandeur, the Reds are hopefully poised to create waves in the Champions League once more.
Liverpool have been handed a challenging draw, that’s for sure, but the fixture list is a pleasant reminder that LFC are back among the big time in Europe after missing out last season!
EOTK Close-up with John Welsh: ‘a local lad who lived his dream’ and Slot’s LFC predictions
The post Liverpool’s Champions League draw: Fixtures confirmed as Reds await challenging campaign appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
