For the second year in a row, the Champions League is being held in its new form – a league phase with a total of 36 teams.
The draw offered, as expected, several really tough top meetings.
Real Madrid will, among other things, measure their strength against both Liverpool and Manchester City, while Bayern Munich is faced with double top matches against Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
The successful team from Norway, Bodø/Glimt, will have tough challenges during the autumn. The team will, among other things, face Manchester City and the Norwegian Erling Haaland. In addition, they were drawn to meet teams like Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham.
Prior to the draw, Uefa handed out its annual awards – and one of the honorary awards went to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who received the prestigious "Presidents Award".
The award is given to a person who is considered to have made a significant contribution to the sport, both on and off the pitch.
I want to thank the president for this award. It means that I did something in my career, otherwise I would not have received it. I am really happy. I was lucky to play with big players, in big clubs and that made me the person I am today. So I am grateful and really happy, said Ibrahimovic.
New for this year's Champions League is that the final will change the kick-off time from 9:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
