Champions League group stage draw: Pot 4
Thursday, August 31, 2023
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Union Berlin will make their debut in the competition and were among the teams in Pot 4 for the draw.
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UEFA.com profiles the eight teams who were in Pot 4 for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
History will be made when German outfit Union Berlin take their place in the competition for the first time. They were part of a grouping that contained former European Cup winners Celtic and a number of sides who have previously made the semi-finals.
Young Boys (SUI)
UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23 season): 51
How they qualified: Swiss champions, play-off winners (W3-0agg vs Maccabi Haifa)
Last season: Europa Conference League qualifying play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Semi-finals (1958/59)
2022/23: All about the number 16! YB won their 16th Swiss title, finishing 16 points clear of the pack and scoring 16 goals more than any other team. Also beat Lugano to complete the double, well and truly banishing the memory of an agonising defeat on penalties to Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League qualifying play-offs.
Real Sociedad (ESP)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 52
How they qualified: Fourth in Spain
Last season: Europa League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: Semi-finals (1982/83)
2022/23: Ten wins in 13 league games during the first half of the season catapulted La Real into the top four and gave them a buffer for when their form wobbled between February and mid-April. Winning at Manchester United was the highlight of a European campaign ended by a dogged Roma defence in the last 16, while Barcelona edged them out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals.
Galatasaray (TUR)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 55
How they qualified: Turkish champions, play-off winners (W5-3agg vs Molde)
Last season: Not in European competition
Best European Cup performance: Semi-finals (1988/89)
2022/23: Finished eight points clear in the title race as they topped the Turkish championship for the first time since 2018/19, though İstanbul Başakşehir ended their double dreams in the quarter-finals. Though prolific going forwards, their league success was underpinned by a miserly defence with only 27 goals conceded.
Celtic (SCO)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 57
How they qualified: Scottish champions
Last season: Group stage (fourth place)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1966/67)
2022/23: A winless group stage was harsh on a Celtic side that offered severe tests to Real Madrid, Leipzig and Shakhtar under Ange Postecoglou. Retained their domestic title in swashbuckling style, scoring 114 goals in 38 games as part of their eighth domestic treble.
Newcastle (ENG)
UEFA coefficient ranking: N/A
How they qualified: Fourth in England
Last season: Not in European competition
Best European Cup performance: Second group stage (2002/03)
2022/23: Eleventh the season before, Eddie Howe's side rarely slipped out of the top four and only lost five games out of 38 in the Premier League as they booked a return to the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign. Also reached the League Cup final, losing to Manchester United.
Union Berlin (GER)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 94
How they qualified: Fourth in Germany
Last season: Europa League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: First appearance
2022/23: Continued to create history by registering their highest finish in the Bundesliga era, ending fourth in only their fourth season in the competition. Though Eintracht Frankfurt ended their German Cup hopes in the quarter-finals, there was another first in Europe as they successfully made it out of the Europa League group stage then eliminated Ajax before falling to Union Saint-Gilloise.
Antwerp (BEL)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 96
How they qualified: Belgian champions, play-off winners (W3-1agg vs AEK Athens)
Last season: Europa Conference League qualifying play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (1957/58)
2022/23: Mark van Bommel's first season at the helm proved to be ground-breaking, despite İstanbul Başakşehir ending their European adventure. Antwerp won the title on the final day thanks to a 94th-minute equaliser from Toby Alderweireld at Genk – it was the club's first league championship in 66 years and completed their maiden double after they beat Mechelen in the cup final.
Lens (FRA)
UEFA coefficient ranking: N/A
How they qualified: Second in France
Last season: Not in European competition
Best European Cup performance: Group stage (1998/99, 2002/03)
2022/23: Lens finished as Ligue 1 runners-up for the first time since 2002 and pushed Paris all the way in the title race. Franck Haise's side only lost once before the end of January and won 11 of their last 12 games to end the season a point behind the champions. Their downturn in between coincided with their Coupe de France quarter-final exit at the hands of Nantes.
