PSG to face Barcelona, Man City in Champions League draw

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain have been drawn into a challenging group for the Champions League league phase, set to face Barcelona, Manchester City, and Aston Villa. The draw, which took place on Thursday, pits PSG against familiar and formidable opponents as they aim for a third consecutive European title.

PGS will play Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray, and Slovan Bratislava at home. Their away fixtures include two trips to England to face Manchester City and Aston Villa, both of whom they defeated en route to their 2025 Champions League triumph. They will also travel to Spain to play Villarreal and to Italy to face Cesc Fabregas's Como side.

Luis Enrique, the PSG manager, expressed his confidence, stating, "I would sign up for the same result as in the last two years." PSG is aiming to emulate Real Madrid's achievement of winning three consecutive titles between 2016 and 2018, a feat not accomplished in the last 50 years.

Last season's runners-up, Arsenal, face a tough schedule as well, with home games against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, and Sabah. Their away ties include challenging fixtures against Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, and Slavia Prague.

The league phase, featuring new formats and expanded participation, will see the first matches played between September 8 and 10, with the final games concluding in late January. UEFA is expected to release the full fixture schedule on Saturday. Other notable matchups include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid hosting Inter Milan.

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I can’t say anything bad about the Champions League, but I won’t be watching the draw. I will be relaxing and going out on my bike, then we’ll take a look at the menu. But I would sign up for the same result as in the last two years.