Messi and Ronaldo to meet in Champions League group stage
October 1, 2020 15:59 MYT
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will do battle in the 2020/21 Champions League after Barcelona and Juventus were drawn in the same group.
LaLiga giants Barca and Serie A champions Juve were paired together in Group G at Thursday's draw, along with Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros.
Messi and Ronaldo have played against each other five times in the Champions League, the former on the winning side twice and as many matches ending in a draw. While Ronaldo has managed a solitary win, he has failed to score in their previous meetings.
Bayern Munich, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to be crowned champions of Europe for a sixth time in Lisbon in August, will come up against Atletico Madrid in Group A.
PSG were drawn with Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in what looks a tough Group H, while Liverpool - winners of the competition in 2019 - will lock horns with Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland in Group D.
1 - Paris have won only one of their 6 games against English sides in the group stage of the Champions League (D3 L2), against Liverpool on 28 November 2018. Ole. pic.twitter.com/hR0r9Ukc0M
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 1, 2020
Real Madrid are in Group B with Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach, while Europa League holders Sevilla have Chelsea for company in Group E, along with Krasnodar and Rennes.
Group C comprises of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille, while Zenit, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are joined by Club Brugge in Group F.
The final will be staged at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on May 29, 2021.
1 - Chelsea have won just one of their last 10 European games against Spanish opposition (D5 L4), a 2-1 victory away against Atletico Madrid in September 2017. Blues. pic.twitter.com/eeJQXc3lTv
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 1, 2020
Champions League group stage draw:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow