Champions League: Bayern drawn in group with Barcelona
August 26, 2021
The Champions League proper kicks off on September 14th and on Thursday evening, the Bundesliga's four representatives learned their fates in the group stage draw. Bayern dodged a "Group of Death" similar to the one Leipzig landed in. Dortmund and Wolfsburg managed to avoid the big names.
Bayern Munich
Champions League history: Six-time winners and 11-time finalists, Bayern have a long and storied history with the Champions League that includes moments in the modern era such as the Finale dahoam, the all-German final against Borussia Dortmund in Wembley and most recently a 1-0 win over Paris-Saint Germain at the end of a COVID-19 hit 2019/20 campaign.
Last season’s quarterfinal exit against PSG was only the third time in the last 10 seasons in which the German record titleholders have failed to reach the final four.
Group draw reaction: Are Barcelona as fearsome a draw without Lionel Messi? Bayern won't think so and that's after they beat them 8-2 in the last meeting, a quarterfinal clash in Lisbon from 2020. With Benfica and Dynamo Kiev making up the remainder of Group E, the target will be the top spot for new head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
RB Leipzig
Champions League history: This season will be Leipzig's fourth Champions League campaign since they made their debut back in the 2017/18 season. Having fallen short against PSG in the semifinals during Nagelsmann’s first campaign at the helm, they followed it up with a Round of 16 exit against Liverpoollast season.
New head coach Jesse Marsch has failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in two attempts with RB Salzburg, but he will be expected to deliver a third campaign that goes beyond the group stages with Leipzig.
Group draw reaction: Last season, Leipzig survived a group featuring PSG, Manchester United and Basaksehir. This season, the difficulty has been raised yet again as they were drawn in one of the "Group of Death" contenders alongside Manchester City, PSG (again) and Club Brugge. A tough ask in a season of transition under Marsch.
Borussia Dortmund
Champions League history: The perennial fan favorites and knockout stage nuisances, Dortmund and their young guns have often been one of the Champions League big talking points over the course of the last decade. Winners of the title in 1997 against Juventus and finalists in 2013, BVB have featured in the knockouts stages in seven of their last eight Champions League campaigns.
While Erling Haaland was named UEFA’s Forward of the Year for finishing as the competition's top goalscorer with 10 goals last season, Dortmund as a whole didn’t hit the same heights. They were eventually knocked out by Manchester City, the same side that defeated Marco Rose and Gladbach in the previous round.
Group draw reaction: For a second season running, Dortmund have been handed what could be considered a favorable draw. While BVB love to clash with Europe's biggest names, being drawn against Sporting Lisbon, Ajax and Besiktas will now see expectations turn to taking the top spot in Group C. Rose has to deliver.
VfL Wolfsburg
Champions League history: Wolfsburg are set to make only their third appearance at Europe's top table. While their debut campaign ended in a group stage exit, the 2015/16 campaign saw a team featuring Julian Draxler, Andre Schürrle and now club captain Maximilian Arnold reach the quarterfinals. They beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the first leg, but a 3-0 loss in the second cost them an almighty upset.
During their five-season absence from the Champions League, the Wolves featured in Europe just once, reaching the last 16 of the 2019/20 Europa League, where they suffered a 5-1 aggregate loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Group draw reaction: Coming from Pot 4 things couldn't have gone better for Wolfsburg. Yes, they lost out on the chance to host one of Europe's elite, but the realistic possibility of a knockout stage berth will be a great source of motivation as they line up against Lille, Sevilla and RB Salzburg. The question now is can Mark van Bommel pull it off?