ANALYSING LIVERPOOL’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP

Liverpool were drawn in group A of the 2022/23 Champions League group stage. In what is a strong but manageable enough group, the Reds were drawn against Dutch champions Ajax, Italian side Napoli and Scottish outfit Rangers.

Jürgen Klopp will be happy with the draw. Not only did Liverpool avoid some of the tougher teams in Pot 1, but they also managed to avoid far flung trips to Israel for example. It’s all in all a good draw for the Reds.

Ajax

The Dutch giants are regulars at Europe’s top table. Their journey last campaign was ended in the Round of 16 by a certain Darwin Nunez. With Erik Ten Hag moving on this summer, the onus is on Alfred Schreuder to make more waves in Europe.

Ajax were our opponents in the group stages back in the 2020/21 season. Both games took place behind closed doors due to the pandemic, with Liverpool running out 1-0 winners in both matches.

Ajax have lost last season’s topscorer Sebastian Haller to Dortmund, and could well lose Brazilian wing wizard Antony before the window closes. Bergwijn and Brobbey headline the incomings. Both games should serve up good football as the two sides possess clear identities.

Napoli

Luciano Spalletti’s side finished third in the Serie A last season after leading the race for the Scudetto for most of the opening months of the campaign. They’ll expect to challenge for the crown again whilst still plotting a way through this group.

The Reds have regularly come up against the Neopolitans in recent years, drawing them in the group stage back in 2018/19 and 2019/20. They proved a tough nut to crack in those four fixtures, with the Reds winning just once (requiring a last minute Alisson save to do so).

They’ve lost some key players this summer, with Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens all departing. Nigerian hitman Victor Osimhen will lead the charge for the men from Naples.

Rangers

The Gers are finally in the big time after a near twelve year absence. The journey Steven Gerrard set them on has been carried to greater heights than anyone expected by Giovanni Van Bronchorst.

This will be a first competitive fixture in history against the men from Glasgow. The Champions League throws novelty ties every once in a while and the Reds will relish this one in particular. Ibrox will be bouncing!

It’s a chance to catch up with ex-Red Ryan Kent who has carved out a respectable career for himself in Scotland since his switch a few years ago. Ben Davies could also make his long awaited Anfield bow after his curious spell at the club.

The dates for these fixtures will he released in due course. Here’s the draw in full:

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐀
🇳🇱 Ajax
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liverpool
🇮🇹 Napoli
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Rangers

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐁
🇵🇹 Porto
🇪🇸 Atletico Madrid
🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen
🇧🇪 Club Brugge

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐂
🇩🇪 Bayern Munich
🇪🇸 Barcelona
🇮🇹 Inter
🇨🇿 Viktoria Plzen

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐃
🇩🇪 Eintracht Frankfurt
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Tottenham
🇵🇹 Sporting CP
🇫🇷 Marseille

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐄
🇮🇹 AC Milan
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chelsea
🇦🇹 Salzburg
🇭🇷 Dinamo Zagreb

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐅
🇪🇸 Real Madrid
🇩🇪 RB Leipzig
🇺🇦 Shakhtar Donetsk
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Celtic

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐆
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City
🇪🇸 Sevilla
🇩🇪 Borussia Dortmund
🇩🇰 FC Copenhagen

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐇
🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain
🇮🇹 Juventus
🇵🇹 Benfica
🇮🇱 Maccabi Haifa