<
        >

          LIVE: Champions League group stage draw

          • ESPN
          Aug 23, 2019, 10:32 AM

          The draw for the Champions League group stages will take place on Thursday, Aug. 29 in Monaco and is expected to begin at noon ET / 4 p.m. GMT.

          Teams will appear below. Please refresh the page to see the latest content.

          GROUP A: PSG, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray
          GROUP B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade
          GROUP C: Man City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Atalanta
          GROUP D: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow
          GROUP E: Liverpool, Napoli, FC Salzburg, Genk
          GROUP F: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia Prague
          GROUP G: Zenit St Petersburg, Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig
          GROUP H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille

          Follow the draw LIVE with ESPN here.

          20.40 ET: That will do it for our Champions League LIVE blog. We hope you enjoyed following along with us as the groups were unveiled and will be counting down the days until the group stage kicks off on Sept. 7. We'll say goodbye for now with one last look at all the groups and some predictions from our Mark Ogden.

          20.28 ET: Eric Cantona's speech was... something.

          But the unquestioned moment of the draw for me was when Slavia Prague's representative found out the Czech side had been drawn into Group F.

          I mean can you blame him? Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, Romelu Lukaku and Lauturo Martinez all in one group... all you really can do is laugh.

          2.14 ET: What are Cristiano Ronaldo's immediate thoughts about the draw?

          2.02 ET: Here's an interesting note from Nick Ames yesterday...

          Dinamo have been drawn into Group C with Man City, Shakhtar, and Atalanta, while Red Star are slotted in Group B alongside Bayern, Tottenham and Olympiakos.

          1:52 ET: Gab Marcotti is not so high on fellow Italian club Inter's chances of advancing from the group stages, after the Nerazzurri were drawn into "the group of death" with Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Prague. But could that be a blessing and throw a loop into the Serie A title race?

          1:45 ET: Italy writer James Horncastle is feeling good about debutants Atalanta's chances to advance out of a Group C that also contains Manchester City, Shakhtar and Dimamo Zagreb.

          For those unfamiliar with the Italian minnows, the club qualified for the UCL last season for the first time in its 111-year history and led by Papu Gomez, Josip Illicic and Duvan Zapata play an exciting brand of football under Gian Piero Gasperini

          1:40 ET Let's check in with some of correspondents for their reactions to the draw.

          1:32 ET: Now that the groups have been unveiled, who do you like to win Europe's biggest prize? Vote below.

          1:20 ET: Finally, the UEFA Men's Player of the Year...

          The finalists this season count two familiar faces in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and a relative newcomer to these award shows in Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk.

          Drumroll please...

          The winner is Virgil van Dijk. The 28-year-old defender almost single-handedly reformed Liverpool's defense in 2018-19, transforming the Reds from a helter-skelter but defensively vulnerable side into a complete team and ultimately, European champions. Well done, Virgil and a great day for Liverpool.

          1:10 ET: Two major awards to go here as we have yet to crown the UEFA Men's and Women's Player of the Year.

          First up is the ladies award with Lyon teammates Lucy Bronze, Ada Hegerberg and Amadine Henry the three finalists.

          And...Three Lioness star Lucy Bronze is the winner!

          1:06 ET: Here is your first look at the finalised groups? What group do you believe is the "group of death?"

          1:00 ET: The Pot 4 draw has begun...

          12.55 ET: It is now time for the announcement of the winner of the top forward award from last season's tournament.

          Guess who? Lionel Messi. The Barcelona legend claims the award for a fifth time, he is also a finalist for the UEFA Men's Player of the Award and will back on stage later on. Below is a recap of tonight's positional awards.

          12.48 ET: Inter are first drawn from Pot 3 and they draw the very tough Group F with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.

          12.46 ET: Time for Pot 3...

          12:44 ET: It is award time again... this time for the best midfielder of the 2018-19 Champions League.

          It is more Dutch delight as Frenkie de Jong, then of Ajax and now of Barcelona, takes home the hardware. The 22-year-old proved the breakout star of the season and led Cinderella Ajax within minutes of the Champions League final. What a player. What a season. What a future for De Jong.

          12:42 ET: Napoli are draw into Group E with Liverpool for the second consecutive season, leaving Atletico Madrid for Group D and setting up a titanic matchup with Juventus.

          12.40 BST: Shakhtar Donetsk draw Man City in Group C.... AGAIN.

          12.39 ET: Real Madrid are drawn into Group A with PSG... that will be interesting after this summer's Neymar drama.

          12.38 ET: Benfica are drawn into Group G with Zenit.

          12.37 ET: Borussia Dortmund are drawn into Group F with Barcelona.

          12.36 ET: Last year's runner-ups Ajax are draw into Group H with Chelsea.

          12.34 ET: Tottenham are draw into Group B with Bayern Munich.

          12.32 ET: Time for Pot 2 to be drawn

          12.31 ET: Another award, another Liverpool win...

          Virgil van Dijk takes home the UCL's top defender award for 2018-19. He may not be done either... as the Dutchman is a finalist for UEFA Men's Player of the Year later on.

          12.29 ET: PSG is the first club drawn followed by Bayern Munich, Man City and Juventus. Then comes Liverpool, Barcelona, Zenit St Petersburg and Chelsea.

          12.28 ET: And now for a first pot drawing...

          12.23 ET: Our second award of the night is the UCL's top goalkeeper.

          And the winner is... Alisson of Liverpool. The Brazilian backstopped the Reds to the UCL title in 2018-19, making some key save to help Liverpool first escape the group stage and then hold onto their early lead in the final. Our Liverpool correspondent Melissa Reddy has more on Alisson's remarkable season at Anfield.

          12.20 BST: Former UCL winners Wesley Sneijeder (Inter in 2010) and Petr Cech (Chelsea in 2012) will be assisting tonight with the draw.

          12.18 ET: Next up the Champions League trophy! With the final to be held on May 30 at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, former Turkey international Hamit Altintop has the honour of presenting the trophy on stage in Monaco.

          12.09 ET: And our first award is the UEFA President's Award which rewards outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities. The award is usually presented annually to a football personality who is deemed to have advanced the game's development and success. This year's winner? Former Man United and France striker Eric Cantona!

          Congrats to Eric but we are not sure where he was going with that speech.

          12:00 ET: That sweet intro music means only one thing... it's time for the Champions League. But before the matches of the Champions League proper begin on Sept. 7, we must first find out where and who each of the 32 remaining clubs will be playing. Welcome to the Champions League Draw and Award Show from Monaco!

          11.45 ET: Welcome to the coverage of today's live draw.

          Holders Liverpool will join Europa League winners Chelsea among the eight seeds, along with Barcelona (La Liga), Manchester City (Premier League), Juventus (Serie A), Bayern Munich (Bundesliga), Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1), Zenit Saint-Petersburg (Russian Premier).

          Meanwhile, Pot 2 includes Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax and Benfica.

          Continuing down the line, Pots 3 contains Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Red Bull Salzburg, Olympiakos, Club Brugge, Valencia, Inter Milan and Dinamo Zagreb.

          Finally, Pot 4 features Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Galatasaray, RB Leipzig, Slavia Prague, Red Star Belgrade, Atalanta and last but not least, Lille.

          One team from each pot will be drawn into a group, making eight groups of four clubs.

          In addition to the 2019-20 Champions League draw, the winners of the UEFA Men's Player of the Year, UEFA Women's Player of the Year and top goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward awards of the 2018-19 UCL season will be announced this evening in Monaco. With all that said... let's begin!