UEFA gave Chelsea a special recognition for becoming the first club to win all European competitions. And then they gave us a special list of opponents for the league phase of the Champions League. And by special I mean particularly tough.
Five of the eight teams we will be facing are champions of their respective leagues, including the champions of Spain, Germany, and Italy. (We already beat the champions of France, so there was no need for them again.) Welcome back to the big table!
Also on the docket are the champions of Cyprus (Pafos) and the champions of Azerbaijan (Qarabag). We might remeber Qarabag from our Europa League days — long, long-way away days. Fun fact: Pafos recently signed David Luiz (still playing at age 38) so that could be a delightful little reunion.
Our four home games will be: Barcelona, Benfica, Ajax, and Pafos while the four away trips will be to Munich (_Unser Stadion_), Atalanta (i.e. Bergamo, lovely town), Napoli (hi Antoniooooooo!!), and Qarabag.
So, we’ve got our work cut out for us. But, that’s the whole point of the Champions League after all. What can we write in the stars this year?
Exact match dates and times will be set in a couple days, by September 30.
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