RBL’s opponents in the Champions League group stages
Manchester City, Red Star Belgrade and BSC Young Boys await in Group G.
RBL’s opponents in the Champions League group stage have been confirmed.
There are several exciting games ahead of them in Group G of the 2023/24 Champions League season.
The draw on Thursday evening in Monaco revealed that RBL would be taking on Manchester City, Red Star Belgrade and BSC Young Boys in the group stage of the Champions League.
Matchday 1 of this season’s Champions League group stage will take place on 19th/20th September. The sixth and final matchday will take place in the middle of December (12th/13th December). The exact dates of these fixtures will be announced shortly.
Group stage opponents
Manchester City
- RBL will meet the reigning Champions League winners for the second time in the group stages. Both teams previously played in the group stages in 2021/22 (6-3 loss at home, 2-1 loss away). Last season, Pep Guardiola’s side were our opponents in the last 16 (1-1 draw at home, 7-0 loss away). As well as winning the Champions League last season, the Citizens completed a treble winning both the Premier League and FA Cup.
This will also mean another meeting with Josko Gvardiol. The Croatia international moved to England after two years at RBL in the summer.
Players to watch
➙ Erling Haaland
➙ Kevin De Bruyne
➙ Rodrigo
Red Star Belgrade
- Red Star are 13-time Serbian champions and are competing in the Champions League group stages for the second time. Former Leverkusen defender Aleksander Dragovic is a constant fixture at centre-back and they are coached by Barak Bakhar.
Players to watch
➙ Peter Olayinka
➙ Osman Bukari
➙ Jean-Philippe Krasso
BSC Young Boys
- The reigning Swiss champions reached the Champions League having beaten Maccabi Haifa in Champions League qualifying. In the last few years, the club has been highly successful, winning the league five times in the last six years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023).
Young Boys' head coach is a familiar face to those in the Bundesliga, with Rapahel Wicky having played for Hamburger SV from 2001 until 2007. In his first season at Young Boys' head coach, he celebrated a league and cup double, winning the Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup. Former Hertha BSC player defender Fabian Lustenberger is club captain. Former VfL Bochum striker Silvere Ganvoula joined the club in the summer.
Players to watch
➙ Darian Males
➙ Cedric Itten
➙ Jean-Pierre Nsame
Max Eberl
- "It is a hattrick against Manchester City - we will be playing them for the third time in a row. We want to test ourselves against the best teams, and in Man City one of the best teams in Europe at the moment awaits us.
This meeting has a nice sidenote because we will a nice opportunity to give Josko Gvardiol a proper send-off.
- "In Red Star and Young Boys, two exciting teams await us – we are looking forward to both of these games, but it is also obvious that we want to win against both of these teams."
Overview of the other groups
Group A
➙ FC Bayern Munich
➙ Manchester United
➙ FC Kopenhagen
➙ Galatasaray SK
Group B
➙ FC Sevilla
➙ Arsenal FC
➙ PSV Eindhoven
➙ RC Lens
Group C
➙ SSC Napoli
➙ Real Madrid
➙ SC Braga
➙ Union Berlin
Group D
➙ SL Benfica
➙ Inter Milan
➙ FC Salzburg
➙ Real Sociedad
Group E
➙ Feyenoord
➙ Atlético Madrid
➙ SS Lazio
➙ Celtic FC
Group F
➙ Paris St. Germain
➙ Borussia Dortmund
➙ AC Milan
➙ Newcastle United
Group H
➙ FC Barcelona
➙ FC Porto
➙ Shakhtar Donetsk
➙ Royal Antwerp
THE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
- Matchday 1: 19th/20th September
- Matchday 2: 3rd/4th October
- Matchday 3: 24th/25th October
- Matchday 4: 7th/8th November
- Matchday 5: 28th/29th November
- Matchday 6: 12th/13th December
- Round of 16: First legs: 13th-21st February/Second legs: 5th-13th March
- Quarter-finals: First legs: 9th-10th April/Second legs: 16th-17th April
- Semi-finals: First legs: 30th April/1st May/Second legs: 7th-8th May
- Final in London: 1st June
An emotional 2022/23 UCL season
RBL qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the third time in the club’s history in 2022/23, facing an English side in the Round of 16 for a second time. 2020/21 saw the team knocked out by Liverpool, whilst this season they were eliminated by eventual finalists Manchester City.
Despite the exit, we are able to look back with pride at the side’s exploits on the international stage. Following a shaky start to the group stage, the Leipzig boys found their form and went on something of a winning run. We celebrated four fantastic wins, including an unforgettable 3-2 victory over Real Madrid, took a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie against Manchester City, and were defeated three times.
From eight games, we…
- …scored 14 goals
- …scored 1.75 goals per game
- …completed a brilliant 87% of our passes
We are looking forward to competing on the biggest stage in club football and hoping to create more magic moments in next season’s UEFA Champions League!
