Champions League group stage draw: Pot 1
Thursday, October 1, 2020
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All you need to know about the eight teams in Pot 1 ahead of Thursday's group stage draw.
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UEFA.com profiles the eight teams in Pot 1 ahead of Thursday's 2020/21 UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
Bayern (GER)
UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2019/20): 1
How they qualified: UEFA Champions League winners
Last season: winners (W 1-0 vs Paris)
Best European Cup performance: winners (1973/74, 1974/75, 1975/76, 2000/01, 2012/13, 2019/20)
2019/20: Hansi Flick took the reins in November with Bayern fourth in the Bundesliga, initially on an interim basis. That was quickly made permanent as the Bavarian side swept all before them, ending the campaign by beating Paris to complete the treble, their 21st successive win.
Real Madrid (ESP)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 2
How they qualified: Spanish champions
Last season: round of 16 (L 4-2 vs Man. City)
Best European Cup performance: winners (1955/56, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1965/66, 1997/98, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18)
2019/20: Manchester City consigned Madrid to a second successive UEFA Champions League last-16 elimination, but a first domestic title in three years brought some consolation. Zinédine Zidane's men trailed Barcelona as the Liga resumed but a ten-match winning run turned the tide.
Juventus (ITA)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 5
How they qualified: Italian champions
Last season: round of 16 (L on away goals vs Lyon)
Best European Cup performance: winners (1984/85, 1995/96)
2019/20: Juventus wrapped up a ninth successive Italian title thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's 31-goal haul in Serie A. The Turin giants limped over the line in the end, though, scraping home by a point, and the ticker tape had scarcely settled when Maurizio Sarri was replaced by Andrea Pirlo.
Paris (FRA)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 7
How they qualified: French champions
Last season: runners-up (L 1-0 vs Bayern)
Best European Cup performance: runners-up (2019/20)
2019/20: It is testament to Paris's lofty ambitions that a season in which they swept the board in France and reached their first UEFA Champions League final could be construed as disappointing, but Thomas Tuchel's side have set a new high-water mark.
Sevilla (ESP)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 8
How they qualified: UEFA Europa League winners
Last season: N/A
Best European Cup performance: quarter-finals (1957/58, 2017/18)
2019/20: Yet more success in the competition that has been dubbed the UEFA Sevilla League – their tally of six titles is double what anybody else has managed! Julen Lopetegui's well-drilled side also came within a whisker of breaking up Spain's top three for the first time since 2011/12.
Liverpool (ENG)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 10
How they qualified: English champions
Last season: round of 16 (L 4-2 vs Atlético de Madrid)
Best European Cup performance: winners (1976/77, 1977/78, 1980/81, 1983/84, 2004/05, 2018/19)
2019/20: The 30-year wait finally came to an end. After three barren decades (notwithstanding two UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA Cup, three FA Cups), the Reds won the Premier League at a canter, rewriting the record books as they clinched it with seven games to spare.
Porto (POR)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 19
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Last season: third qualifying round (L on away goals vs Krasnodar)
Best European Cup performance: winners (1986/87, 2003/04)
2019/20: The Dragons suffered disappointment in UEFA Champions League qualifying, but finished the season strongly to capture their first domestic double since 2010/11. Sérgio Conceição's side shared the goals around, including 11 for penalty-taking defender Alex Telles.
Zenit (RUS)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 22
How they qualified: Russian champions
Last season: group stage
Best European Cup performance: round of 16 (2011/12, 2013/14, 2015/16)
2019/20: Sardar Azmoun and Artem Dzyuba's potent partnership (21 goals apiece) spearheaded Zenit's charge to a first double since 2010. Four points against eventual semi-finalists Lyon was not enough to see Sergei Semak's side through the UEFA Champions League group stage.