Before facing Everton’s challenge on August 31, Chelsea must first usher in the draw ceremony for this season’s Champions League group stage.
On the two days of August 20th and August 27th, the Champions League group qualifying rounds have also completed the final round of play-offs.
In this case, the thirty-two teams that have reached the group stage of the Champions League this season have also been officially announced.
In the play-offs, the most eye-catching one is Arsenal from the Premier League.
After they narrowly defeated Besiktas from Turkey with a total score of 1:0, they also entered the Champions League group stage for the 17th consecutive season - an achievement that only Real Madrid can compare with.
In other words, since Wenger coached Arsenal in 1996 and won the Premier League and FA Cup double in the second season, and then qualified for the Champions League in the third season, it has been
Never been absent once.
This also shows how stable Arsenal’s results were when Wenger was in office.
Although everyone later joked that Arsenal competed for the top four every year, after Wenger left, they realized that the Champions League is not a place where you can come and participate if you want...
After Arsenal entered the group stage again this season, with their stable performance in the Champions League in recent years, the points they gained in the European Cup can also occupy the position of a first-tier team.
In other focus matches, Napoli from Serie A lost to Athletic Bilbao from La Liga with a total score of 2:4, while Porto from the Portuguese Super League defeated Lille from Ligue 1 with a score of 3:0.
Schalke 04, fourth in the Bundesliga last season, swept Danish team Copenhagen 7:2 and easily advanced to the group stage.
As a result, the classification of the 32 teams has been completed.
According to the UEFA Champions League draw rules, the top 32 teams are divided into 4 levels according to UEFA's points system. The first-level seed teams include the previous champion Hamburg and the other 7 teams with higher European competition points. p>
That is: Hamburg, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal.
What needs to be noted is that although Hamburg unexpectedly won the Champions League last season and won a lot of games, because the European War points are calculated based on the total points in the past five seasons, if the seeds are ranked entirely based on points
If there is a team, it is impossible for Hamburg to be ranked first.
It can only be ranked in the third gear at most.
Even their points are not much higher than those of the teams in the fourth tier. They are at the bottom of the third tier.
This is actually normal.
The number of European points that can be obtained by winning a championship is only 30 to 40 points, and as long as many teams can participate in the European competition every year, and as long as the average score is less than 10 points, the total points can surpass Hamburg.
.
In the second tier of teams, since the three old strong teams Manchester United, AC Milan and Inter Milan have not qualified for the Champions League this season, Manchester City and Zenit, whose European war points rankings are lower than them, have become the second tier teams;
Other second-tier teams include Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Basel, Porto, etc.
The teams in the third pot are Schalke 04, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow, Ajax, Liverpool, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, and Athletic Bilbao.
Liverpool here is worth mentioning, because they have also not participated in the Champions League for a long time, so they can only be ranked in the third tier.
The teams in the fourth tier are mostly regulars in the European group stage. They are Anderlecht, Roma, APOEL, BATE Borisov, Ludogorets, Maribor,
Monaco, Malmö.
This kind of lottery situation is much better for Pan Yi than it was in Hamburg.
After all, Hamburg was a fourth-tier team back then, and it can really be said that no matter how you draw, there will be no good draws.
And now Chelsea is the first team!
This has a natural advantage. They don’t have to consider facing the top teams in the Champions League such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern.
In addition, Manchester City, the most thorny in the second pot, and Liverpool, the most difficult to deal with in the third pot, are both Premier League teams. Due to the principle of domestic avoidance, Chelsea cannot be drawn with them.
Then if we draw again among the remaining teams, no matter how bad Chelsea is, it is impossible to draw a group of death like before.
"Fortunately, it's impossible to get a hamburger." Pan Yi said with a smile.
On the evening of August 28, in Chelsea's head coach's office, Pan Yi and several coaches were watching the live TV broadcast and waiting for the start of the draw ceremony.
"According to UEFA's rules, if we are not in the same league, it might be possible." Assistant coach Steve Holland smiled, "When you were in Hamburg last year, you were drawn against your old club AC.
Milan? This kind of drama of kicking the old club is the most eye-catching."
"And it just so happens that our leader happens to be the most eye-catching head coach in world football today..." Another assistant Scaloni also said, "It's a pity, otherwise the topic would be full!"
Pan Yi smiled: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with being able to win a hamburger. This year, half of the Hamburger team was bought, and the strength is no longer what it used to be."
In this summer, Hamburg is indeed the team with the most "blood loss" in the entire European football.
Among their main lineup, people like Vardy, De Bruyne, Kante, Casemiro, Carvajal, Navas, etc. have all been poached.
Even Calhanoglu, Paulinho, Makoto Hasebe and others who played as rotation substitutes also switched to his team.
Although Hamburg also added players like Behrami, Djurou, and Adler in the summer window, the decline in strength is still very obvious.
Their performance in the first round of the Bundesliga that just passed also proved this.
Hamburg faced newly promoted Cologne away from home and was tied 0:0, showing a certain degree of weakness.
Afterwards, Pan Yi said to everyone in a relaxed tone:
"Actually, my point of view is still the same as before."
"No matter which team is drawn, we have to be fully prepared to win."
"Last year, I led Hamburg to encounter Barcelona and Milan in the group stage, so what? We didn't qualify two rounds in advance."
"Our goal this year is also to win the championship! To create history! So we have to find a way to defeat all teams!"
The coaches were very excited when they heard what Pan Yi said.
Everyone knows Pan Yi's level, and also knows that he won't talk nonsense.
Since Pan Yi said he wanted to create history, then he really wants to go for this goal!
So as long as everyone unites closely around the Chelsea coaching staff with Pan Yi as the core, unites as one, and works together, it is possible to realize this great vision!
Isn’t it just for this moment that everyone becomes a professional coach? To lift the most important trophy!
As for Pan Yi, of course he is also looking forward to the start of the Champions League.
After all, although the Premier League is indeed very exciting, it is a long marathon, more of a protracted game, which tests the team's overall combat capability.
But the cup competition is different, especially in the knockout rounds, when every game is really a stab at the knife!
Not to mention the Champions League games, each one is a top player carefully selected from the European continent.
Masters compete with each other and then eliminate these masters, which will make Pan Yi feel very enjoyable!
This kind of feeling is something that the league cannot give.
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Monaco, Grimaldi Forum.
The annual UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony and UEFA awards ceremony officially kicked off here.
Before the draw ceremony began, last season's champion, Hamburg captain Westermann, brought the Champions League trophy back to the scene.
Then a short video was played live to commemorate the two football legends Eusebio and Di Stefano who passed away.
Those in charge of the draw ceremony are still UEFA Secretary General Infantino and Competition Director Marchetti, and the guest is the German football star Riedel.
The reason why the guest is Liddell is because this season's Champions League final will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.
The first seeded teams are drawn first.
Bayern Munich enters Group E.
Then the defending champion Hamburg was drawn and entered Group H.
Then Real Madrid and Galacticos entered Group B.
Benfica was drawn into Group C, Arsenal was drawn into Group D, Barcelona was drawn into Group F, and Atletico Madrid was drawn into Group A.
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The last one to be drawn was Chelsea, entering Group G.
It's still calm here, after all, it's just putting the first-tier teams into corresponding levels.
But starting from the draw of the second-tier teams, both the representatives of each team at the scene and the officials and coaches watching in front of the TV became a little nervous.
For example, in the office of the director of the Westfalenstadion in Germany, Michael Salk, the director of Dortmund, is staring at the TV screen with head coach Jurgen Klopp.
"It can be Real Madrid or Barcelona, but it's best not to be..." Klopp gritted his teeth and said, "Chelsea!"
As a second-tier team, Dortmund itself is unlikely to encounter Bayern Munich from the same country.
In the previous two seasons, they did not fall behind when facing Real Madrid, so Klopp is not embarrassed about the Spanish team.
Of course, if it were Benfica or even Arsenal, Uncle Zha would prefer it.
But...
When he faced Pan Yi's team, he never got any good results!
Last season, two 0:3 scores in the league and cup really gave Klopp a deep sense of powerlessness when facing Pan Yi.
This season, Pan Yi switched to Chelsea, but still showed an unstoppable momentum, winning two 4:0s in the Premier League. It seems that the momentum is no weaker than when he was in Hamburg.
I don’t know why, but Klopp feels in his heart that if he meets Pan Yi again, it will end badly!
Therefore, he would rather go to a giant like Barcelona and Real Madrid than face Pan Yi again!
If we really draw Chelsea, we will be really unlucky!
"To be honest, if we meet Chelsea, what are the chances of winning?" Director Salk asked solemnly.
He can probably guess a little bit of Klopp's thoughts.
But in his heart, there is also hope that Klopp can lead Dortmund to defeat Pan Yi's Chelsea.
In this way, Klopp may be able to get rid of his own demons, which will be more conducive to Dortmund's future development.
"I don't know." Klopp shook his head and smiled bitterly.
He really doesn't know.
In other words, he may want to say "the probability of winning is very low", but of course he cannot say it like this.
He has also watched Chelsea's Premier League games, and he also found that after Pan Yi arrived in the Premier League, he upgraded his tactical concepts and system.
Although the 433 formation in Hamburg was very successful, Pan Yi still resolutely changed Chelsea's main tactic to 343, and this style of play even seemed more complete than before in the Bundesliga.
This is also a very scary place!
You know, when a football coach can form a complete set of his own tactical concepts, he can usually sum it up after several years of hard work in professional football.
And if you can be very proficient in multiple formations and switch skillfully between multiple playing styles, then it will never be possible for you to have more than ten or eight years of skill.
Even though there are so many world-class coaches now, many of them are famous for a certain formation that they are good at.
For example, Bielsa's 3313, Conte's 352, Guardiola's 433, Mourinho's 4231, etc.
But now this Pan Yi, who is only 28 years old, says that he changes the formation whenever he changes it, and he plays so well every time after changing it!
From the time he served as an assistant coach in Milan, which is the fourth year of his career, he has already used 4231, 433, and now the 343 formation to make a mark.
What a terrifying tactical ability this has! He actually uses Turin!
And now Pan Yi is in Chelsea, a club with sufficient funds and complete club facilities as a solid backing. He can build his own lineup according to his own ideas and use his own tactics.
Coupled with his already superb formation skills and on-the-spot command, no one knows how far he will take this team!
Because of this, Klopp just wants to say: He doesn’t want to meet Pan Yi’s Chelsea!
So this draw made him feel very worried.
If we really encounter it, if we are still defeated completely, how much pressure will Uncle Zha have as the coach?
Klopp is now very aware of the gap between himself and Pan Yi, as well as Dortmund's current strength.
Although they have also made various recruitments this season, spending 19.4 million euros to buy Italian star Yin Mobilai, 10 million euros to introduce Ginter from Freiburg, and 9.7 million euros to buy Aridri La from Hertha Berlin.
Moss, Ji Dongyuan came on a free transfer from Augsburg;
There are also two old players, Shinji Kagawa, who spent 8 million to buy back from Manchester United, and Shaheen, who spent 7 million to buy out from Real Madrid...
However, Dortmund got Wandowski for free this season!
This seems to be a vacancy that no player can fill.
With Yin Mobi Lai's ability, can he take over Lai Wan's role? This is obviously a big question mark.
So, if Dortmund’s current lineup meets Chelsea, does Klopp really have a chance of winning?
And how will we play then?
Attack? I'm afraid it will be difficult.
Fully defensive? That will probably be scolded by the fans in Westphalia.
You know, since the first day Pan Yi rose in Hamburg, countless media and fans have been comparing him with Pan Yi.
Later, everyone recognized that this comparison was meaningless - because Pan Yi had already won a complete victory!
If Klopp chooses to defend when facing Pan Yi again, this will already be another loss.
Not to mention that if you still lose after defending, then you will really lose more!
Of course, Klopp is not saying never touch Pan Yi.
His heart is also eager for challenges and has the ideal to lead the best team in the world!
What he was thinking about was that he could use a more ideal lineup to challenge Pan Yi and truly defeat him!
Rather than when he was building a lineup, the team's main forward just slipped into the home of his opponent...
"Perhaps if one day I am given a Premier League team with enough funds to build a strong lineup, I can go to England and face him!" This is Klopp's inner monologue.
Of course, he would not say this when facing the team director now.
And how does Director Salk know what Klopp is thinking?
He just could see that Klopp could touch anyone now, but he really didn’t want to touch Pan Yi.
So, Salk patted Klopp's shoulder gently and comforted him with a smile: "It's okay, you won't be so unlucky."
Then, on the TV screen, another draw guest, Germany and Hamburg double star Uwe Schiller, had already shown the note showing Dortmund to everyone.
"Dortmund, Group G!"
It is the G group that Chelsea is in!
Klopp suddenly had a black line on one end.
What a bad luck I have...
Why are you afraid of whatever comes?
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Teams in the second pot were drawn out one after another.
Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian Super League giant, entered Group C to accompany Benfica.
The next draw was Paris Saint-Germain, who were divided into Group F where Barcelona is!
Then Shakhtar Donetsk enters Group H, where they will face the defending champion Hamburg.
Then Manchester City entered Group E and met Bayern Munich again! This also caused a lot of noise at the scene.
Porto is drawn into Group D, Basel is drawn into Group B, and Juventus is drawn into Group A.
When it comes to the teams in the third tier, the one that attracts the most attention is of course Liverpool. They were drawn into Group B, which is a group with Real Madrid!
Of course, at this time, there was no so-called "there are some accounts to be settled" between the two teams, so it didn't cause much repercussions.
Mainly because the second team in this group is Basel in Switzerland, so there is no real so-called group of death.
The team that was drawn into Group G with Chelsea and Dortmund was Sporting CP.
This is actually a relatively strong team among the third-tier teams.
"Is my luck really so bad?" Pan Yi couldn't help laughing in front of the TV.
Although Chelsea is a team in the first tier, which means that no matter how bad their luck is, it will not be any worse, but now it seems that almost all the strong teams that may be drawn in each tier have been drawn.
Ah!
In the second pot, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and Dortmund are undoubtedly the strongest potential opponents, and then Dortmund was drawn;
In the third pot, the stronger ones are Sporting CP, Ajax, and Athletic Bilbao, and then Sporting CP was drawn.
"The last team won't be Roma, right?" Scaloni took a look at the list of teams in the fourth tier, which means Roma is relatively strong.
"You crow's mouth!" Steve Holland cursed lightly, then pointed at the TV screen.
There, Riddle had already raised the piece of paper with the word "Rome" written on it, and then pulled out its group: Group G!
"Oh no, this is too nonsense." Pan Yi really laughed out loud.
This is to force yourself to make things more difficult and create a theoretical "death group".
But now that he's done it, who will Pan Yi be afraid of?
Even groups like Barcelona, Milan, and Ajax have been kicked out. I’m really not afraid of this reduced version of the group of death!
"Okay, let's cheer up and face new challenges! The stronger the opponent, the happier I am!" Pan Yi said to the coaches, "And the preparations for defeating them will start today!
”
"Yes, boss!" Everyone responded in unison.
Under Pan Yi, everyone has such spirit!
If I were to change to another team, I don’t know how long I would have to wear the mask of pain.
After all, who doesn’t want to pinch a few more soft persimmons in the group stage?
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With all the teams in the fourth pot being drawn, the grouping of the 2014-2015 Champions League group stage has finally been completed.
Group A: Atletico Madrid (Spain), Juventus (Italy), Olympiacos (Greece), Malmo (Sweden)
Group B: Real Madrid (Spain), Basel (Switzerland), Liverpool (England), Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
Group C: Benfica (Portugal), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Schalke 04 (Germany), Monaco (France)
Group D: Arsenal (England), Porto (Portugal), Galatasaray (Turkey), Anderlecht (Belgium)
Group e: Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester City (England), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Maribor (Slovenia)
Group F: Barcelona (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Ajax (Netherlands), APOEL (Cyprus)
Group G: Chelsea (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Sporting CP (Portugal), Roma (Italy)
Group h: Hamburg (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Athletic Bilbao (Spain), Borisov (Belarus)
In general, the defending champion Hamburg is in a good group. After all, the other three opponents are not very strong. Perhaps their biggest headache is the long away road trip to Ukraine and Belarus.
Group F, in which Barcelona, Paris and Ajax are located, and Group G, in which Chelsea, Dortmund, Sporting CP and Roma are located, are recognized as more difficult groups.
Especially in Group G, everyone thinks that all four teams have a chance to qualify. It is the real group of death in the Champions League this season!
But Pan Yi said at a press conference the next day, before the start of the third round of the Premier League, that Chelsea did not think there was anything special about this group.
"As everyone knows, I have never been particularly picky about my opponents in the Champions League, as long as I don't play the same team all the time."
"What, you said Dortmund is my old rival? Haha, now that I am in the Premier League and Klopp is in the Bundesliga, it feels fresh again."
"There is no doubt that our goal in the group stage is only one, which is to be first in the group. Because our ultimate goal is the championship, I also want to be first in the group stage."
"So, the other three teams are embarrassed, you can only compete for second place in the group."
Pan Yi said this very confidently, which also caused some uproar among the media reporters at the scene.
But it seems that there is nothing wrong with it. After all, whether it is from the paper strength of these four teams or their recent status, Chelsea is indeed the best.
Although a football match is not a game where the outcome can be determined by looking at paper strength, Pan Yi always allows his team to exert its strongest capabilities in the match and then win!
The competition facts in recent years have been proving this point.
Finally, Pan Yi said that whether it is the Champions League or the next Premier League game, his team is ready.
Chelsea has the ability to attack on multiple fronts at the same time and strive for the best results!