Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Messi, Ronaldo to renew rivalry as Barca face Juve

Last updated on: October 02, 2020 01:18 IST

Defending champions Bayern Munich face Atletico Madrid after they were drawn together in Group A alongside Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and UEFA General Secretary and Director of Football Giorgio Marchetti at the UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw in Geneva,

IMAGE: Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and UEFA General Secretary and Director of Football Giorgio Marchetti at the UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday. Photograph: Reuters

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will face each other for the first time in more than two years after their teams, Barcelona and Juventus, were drawn together on Thursday in the Champions League group stage.

 

The two sides, which met in the 2015 final, were paired in Group G along with Dynamo Kiev and Hungarian side Ferencvaros, who are back in the group stage after a 25-year absence.

Ronaldo and Messi, the two highest scorers in Champions League history with 130 and 115 goals respectively, have not clashed since the Portuguese left Real Madrid to join Juventus at the end of the 2017-18 season.

The pair have only met five times in the Champions League, most recently in 2011 when Barcelona beat Real 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Defending champions Bayern Munich must face Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid after they were drawn together in Group A alongside Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

The draw, held at a television studio in Geneva, produced several other high-profile clashes.

Paris St Germain and Manchester United will clash in Group H, English champions Liverpool face Ajax Amsterdam in Group D, which also features high-scoring Italians Atalanta, and Real Madrid play Inter Milan in Group B.

The Groups

Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow

Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Moenchengladbach

Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Olympique de Marseille

Group D: Liverpool, Ajax Amsterdam, Atalanta, FC Midtjylland

Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes

Group F: Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Brugge

Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros

Group H: Paris St Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.