Real Madrid and French striker Karim Benzema have been named UEFA Player of the Year following his stellar performance last season. The forward was crowned king of Europe on Thursday 25th August 2022 during the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League draw.
Aside from Benzema bagging the player of the year, the highlight of the evening was the draw. English premier league side, Tottenham Hotspur have been handed an extremely kind draw as they return to European top football after being drawn in the same group against last season's Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille.
In contrast to the spurs draw, Barcelona, Manchester City and Liverpool have been handed tough draws. Barcelona is drawn in Group C alongside Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Viktoria; In Group G, last season’s semi-finalist, Manchester City will face Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen.
It is also a tough draw for last season’s runner-up, Liverpool who will face Dutch champions, Ajax and Italian side, Napoli and Rangers in Group A.
Full draw below
Group A: Liverpool, Ajax, Napoli, Rangers
Group B: Atletico Madrid, Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, Bruges
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Viktoria Pizen
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Spurs, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille
Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Leipzig, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic
Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen
Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Haifa
