Does anyone doubt Manchester United will draw PSV from Pot 1?
With all the big honours in European football now decided, it’s time to see how Uefa’s new policy for seeding the draw for the Champions League will affect next season’s competition, and it’s clear that Pot 2 has now become a viper’s pit.
The new rules prioritise teams which have won Europe’s biggest leagues, meaning places in Pot 1 that would previously have gone to the clubs with higher coefficients, such as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Porto and Arsenal, are instead filled by Paris St-Germain, Zenit St Petersburg, Juventus and PSV Eindhoven.
That quartet join Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Premier League champions Chelsea among the top seeds, leaving the others to lie in wait in a murderously strong Pot 2 that also includes Manchester United and Manchester City.
Pot 1: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, PSG, Benfica, Zenit, PSV Eindhoven.
Pot 2 (as things stand): Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Porto, Arsenal, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City
Valencia’s place in Pot 2 could yet be taken by Sevilla, while United’s failure to beat Arsenal yesterday means they are likely to join whichever Spanish side finishes fourth and Leverkusen in the non-champions play-off, where tricky opponents such as Marseille or Monaco, Sporting Lisbon and CSKA Moscow lying in wait.
[h/t ESPN]
