The Blues are in Group E and will face Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb for the first time in our history. It will be our maiden competitive fixture against a Croatian side.

Our meeting with AC Milan evokes memories of our two epic group stage draws in our inaugural Champions League campaign back in 1999/00. The Serie A winners count Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori among their ranks, as well as Tiemoue Bakayoko, on loan from the Bridge.

We met Salzburg in a pre-season friendly in 2019 when Pedro scored an extraordinary backflicked volley in a 5-3 win. They have won their domestic league nine years in a row.

Dinamo Zagreb qualified with an extra-time victory over Bodo/Glimt last night, eventually prevailing 4-2 on aggregate.

Please note the dates and kick-off times for our six group stage fixtures will be released by midday on Saturday 27 August.

The full draw

Group A

Ajax
Liverpool
Napoli
Rangers

Group B

Porto
Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Club Bruges

Group C

Bayern Munich
Barcelona
Inter Milan
Viktoria Plzen

Group D

Eintracht Frankfurt
Tottenham
Sporting Lisbon
Marseille

Group E

AC Milan
Chelsea
RB Salzburg
Dinamo Zagreb

Group F

Real Madrid
RB Leipzig
Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic

Group G

Manchester City
Sevilla
Borussia Dortmund
Copenhagen

Group H

Paris Saint-Germain
Juventus
Benfica
Maccabi Haifa

Champions League group stage dates

All six group fixtures will be played over an eight-week period this autumn due to the mid-season scheduling of the FIFA World Cup. The first two games will take place before the September international break, with the remaining four over five weeks in October and early November.

Matchday 1: 6/7 September
Matchday 2: 13/14 September
Matchday 3: 4/5 October
Matchday 4: 11/12 October
Matchday 5: 25/26 October
Matchday 6: 1/2 November