UEFA Champions League 2022/23

[Lineker]

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The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw took place on Monday 18 July, at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

Champions path draw
Maccabi Haifa (ISR) / Olympiacos (GRE) vs Apollon Limassol (CYP)
Qarabağ (AZE) / Zürich (SUI) vs Ferencváros (HUN) / Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Ludogorets (BUL) / Shamrock Rovers (IRL) vs Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) / Shkupi (MKD)

Maribor (SVN) / Sheriff (MDA) vs HJK Helsinki (FIN) / Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Linfield (NIR) / Bodø/Glimt (NOR) vs Žalgiris (LTU) / Malmö (SWE)
Crvena zvezda (SRB) vs Pyunik (ARM) / Diddeleng (LUX)

The Champions path features two new entrants and ten second qualifying round winners (Champions path). Teams were divided into two groups and seeded in accordance with the club coefficient ranking (the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved in an undecided pairing).

League path draw
Monaco (FRA) vs PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) / Fenerbahçe (TUR) vs Sturm Graz (AUT)
Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) vs Rangers (SCO)
Benfica (POR) vs Midtjylland (DEN) / AEK Larnaca (CYP)

The League path features six new entrants and two second qualifying round winners (League path). Teams were seeded in accordance with the club coefficient ranking (the higher coefficient of the two clubs involved in an undecided pairing).

Seeded teams are in bold.

How the draw worked

• There were two draws: one for the 12 teams in the Champions path, the other for the eight sides in the League path.
• The draw included some teams taking part in the second qualifying round on 19/20 & 26/27 July. The higher coefficient of the two clubs involved in an undecided pairing was used for the purposes of the draw.
• The teams in each draw were divided equally between seeded and unseeded sides in accordance with the club coefficient rankings.
• The balls containing the names of the seeded teams were placed in one bowl and the balls containing the unseeded sides were put into another bowl. One ball was taken from each bowl and placed in a large empty bowl in the middle, where they were shuffled. The first team drawn plays the first leg at home.
• UEFA formed groups for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. Clubs from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

What happens next?
The third qualifying round winners advance to the play-off round. Defeated teams in the Champions path transfer to the UEFA Europa League play-off round; League path losers will line up in the Europa League group stage.

What are the key qualifying dates?
19/20 July: Second qualifying round first legs
26/27 July: Second qualifying round second legs
2 August: Play-off round draw
2/3 August: Third qualifying round first legs
9 August: Third qualifying round second legs
16/17 August: Play-off round first legs
23/24 August: Play-off round second legs

 

[The Kraig]

On 18/07/2022 at 17:30, Lineker said:

 

I can see Rangers fans enjoying this draw, not realising USG got promoted and immediately topped the Belgian league. They could get a bit of a sucker punch here.

There would also be something hilarious about Rangers being put out by the 'Royal Unionists'.

[gunnar hendershow]

26 minutes ago, The Kraig said:

I can see Rangers fans enjoying this draw, not realising USG got promoted and immediately topped the Belgian league. They could get a bit of a sucker punch here.

There would also be something hilarious about Rangers being put out by the 'Royal Unionists'.

For what it's worth the USG manager who helped them achieve all that success did just leave for, I believe, Anderlecht. 

[The Kraig]

1 minute ago, damhausen said:

For what it's worth the USG manager who helped them achieve all that success did just leave for, I believe, Anderlecht. 

C'est vrai, and this is van Bronckhorst's first proper season at Rangers. Should be one to watch, I might go watch with the locals, it was a great atmosphere for the Rangers/Frankfurt final even when they lost, took it on the chin did they did.

[Lineker]

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Linfield defender Matthew Clarke says the club have an opportunity to complete a "historic" victory in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier with Bodø/Glimt on Wednesday.

Kirk Millar's audacious goal gave the Irish Premiership champions a 1-0 first-leg win over the Norwegian champions at Windsor Park last week.

"We'll have a real hunger and desire to get over the line," said Clarke.

"We will go there with a gameplan and hopefully it is a positive outcome."

Blues winger Millar charged the ball down well before composing himself and delivering an exquisite chip over visiting goalkeeper Nikita Haikin with seven minutes remaining of the first leg of the second qualifying round tie in Belfast.

The Norwegian champions enjoyed wins against Celtic and Roma in last season's Europa Conference League but must now come back from a goal down if they are to progress in the Champions League.

"We are looking forward to what could be a historic night for the football club," Clarke told Linfield's official YouTube channel.

"We realise how big a task it is going to be and the teams Bodø have beaten at home so we are under no illusions about the quality and threat they possess.

"It was hard to take in the performance and result last week but 'hats off' to the manager and coaching staff in how they prepared us, and the boys executed it very well.

"We were well drilled and all understood our roles."

Wednesday night's match could mark a personal milestone for the 28-year-old Castlederg native, who, if selected, will join club legend Noel Bailie in making the second highest number of appearances for Linfield in Europe with 36.

"To even be mentioned in the same breath as a legend of the club like Noel Bailie is unbelievable," enthused Clarke.

"It would be a great achievement, something me and my family can be proud of. Hopefully there will be more European games to come for me."

Some over-exuberant celebrations with team-mate Jordan Stewart left Clarke with a nose injury after last week's win, but the left-back is fit and raring to go to face Bodø.

"I maybe shouldn't have joined in [the celebrations] going by my nose. It was a freak incident," he explained.

"I'm grand, I've got three stitches in my nose and I'll be 100% to go."

The winner of the tie will play either Malmo of Sweden or FK Zalgiris Vilnius in the third round of Champions League qualifying - with the Lithuanian side winning the first leg 1-0 last week.

The team that loses, meanwhile, will drop into the third qualifying stage of the Europa League and would play either Qarabag or FC Zurich, with Qarabag taking a 3-2 lead to Switzerland.

 

[The Kraig]

6 hours ago, Lineker said:

 

Sadly missing Linfield's pretty lovely goals so far.

Putting out TNS.

 

Then this little physics lesson.

 

Linfield to go all the way!

[DFF]

** voiceover** Linfield would subsequently lose the second leg 8-0. 

[Adam]

Kirk Millar, scorer of the winning goal in the first leg and focus of that article, was sent off with the score at 1-0 as well. Poetry.

[Lineker]

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Fans are to be allowed to stand at European fixtures for the first time since 1988 next season after Uefa announced a trial of safe standing.

A ban imposed in the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium disaster, which has been in place for more than 30 years, is to be reviewed. Uefa delegates will observe safe standing at Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League fixtures in the 2022-23 campaign before coming to a long-term decision.

The trial will be limited. Standing will only be allowed at matches hosted by clubs in Europe’s big five leagues. But with Spain and Italy not having safe standing areas, this leaves only Germany, France and England. Further limits will be dictated by the number of individual clubs with standing areas. From England, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and Manchester City are able to take part in the project, while Liverpool, West Ham and Arsenal will not.

The Scottish champions Celtic are also set to miss out despite being safe standing pioneers. There is, however, the prospect of the yellow wall being fully restored at the Signal Iduna Park Stadium, with Borussia Dortmund potentially part of the trial. National FAs must also confirm their willingness to allow clubs to take part.

“An increasing trend towards the use of standing facilities in some domestic competitions has been observed in recent years,” Uefa said in launching the Standing Facilities Observer Programme 2022-23. “Football supporters across Europe as well as clubs who regularly use standing facilities at domestic level have expressed increasing interest for Uefa to consider standing facilities at European matches.

“The objective is to assess if and under what conditions standing may be reintroduced in Uefa competitions in a safe manner.”

The programme will be carried out during the group stage and knockout phases of this season’s men’s European club competitions, up to and including the semi-finals. The finals are excluded.

Uefa says independent experts will also analyse the use of standing facilities at both domestic and international club matches in the three nations. They will assess the different dynamics between national and international supporters and the related safety and security implications.

The end-of-season findings will be submitted to Uefa’s executive committee, which will decide on any possible extension of the programme.

 

[Lineker]

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Ukrainian officials have condemned Turkish football fans who chanted Russian leader Vladimir Putin's name at a Champions League clash in Istanbul.

Thousands of Fenerbahce supporters joined in the chant after their team conceded a goal to Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv.

Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said the incident had "saddened" him deeply.

Dynamo Kyiv won the match 2-1, having drawn 0-0 in the first leg played in Poland because of Russia's invasion.

"We will never understand the words of support for the Russian killer and aggressor who deliberately kills Ukrainians and destroys our country," Mr Bodnar wrote on Facebook. "Even football, which is so loved in Turkey, has its limits."

Competition organiser Uefa told the BBC that it has opened an investigation into the incident.

The chants appeared to have been sparked after Dynamo midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskyi celebrated giving his side the lead by making an eagle gesture with hands, which some fans believed to be a nod to Fenerbahce's arch-rivals Besiktas.

Dynamo's head coach Mircea Lucescu told reporters after the game that the sport "cannot accept the behaviour of the fans".

"I did not expect such chants. It is a pity," he added. Lucescu, a former manager of the Turkish national team, later refused to attend a post-match news conference in protest over the fans' actions.

Fenerbahce said the fans' actions did not represent the club or its "corporate stance in any way".

"We once again remind the public of our stance that sports and politics should always be kept separate from each other," a statement read.

The incident sparked uproar on social media, with some users saying the Turkish side should be banned from European competitions.

It comes just weeks before the return of the top flight of Ukrainian football on 23 August. The Ukrainian Premier League was abandoned after the Russian invasion in February, which made it unsafe to continue.

"Holding football competitions during the war is not only about sports," Andriy Pavelko, president of the Ukrainian FA, told reporters.

The exact format of the competition is yet to be confirmed, but it is expected that games will be played behind closed doors in the Kyiv region and other cities further west.

Just two sides from last season's incomplete schedule, Desna Chernihiv and FC Mariupol, have announced that they will not be able to take part. Both sides have seen their infrastructure devastated, with Mariupol currently under Russian occupation after a protracted siege.

 

[The Kraig]

15 hours ago, DFF said:

** voiceover** Linfield would subsequently lose the second leg 8-0. 

I thought this was a joke, then had a look at the score. The Curse of the Kraig.

[Lineker]

 

[Baddar]

Got the Rangers game on now. They've been poor first half and are a goal down.

EDIT: Finished 2-0 and could have been far worse.

[Colly]

This is piss poor though. It's classic "something unusual happens and the ref doesn't know what to do".

 

[Baddar]

Yeah that was a harsh decision. Clearly gone off the 'silhouette' rather than taking the incident into account.

[Lineker]

 

[The Kraig]

On 02/08/2022 at 22:01, Colly said:

This is piss poor though. It's classic "something unusual happens and the ref doesn't know what to do".

 

As hilarious as it is, that is some idiotic refereeing. The yellow card was a bit of an insult too.

[Baddar]

Didn't get around to watching it but Rangers overturned their tie. They've got PSV next.

[Benjamin]

Honestly wished they were both facing other teams, considering their long runs in the lower competitions last season, it'd be nice to see them in the group stages for a couple of upsets. 

[Lineker]

Real Madrid win the Super Cup tonight - wonder how many they will stick past Frankfurt.