Champions League group stage draw: Pot 1

UEFA.com profiles the eight teams who were in Pot 1 for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

The holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and six national champions were placed in Pot 1. Only three teams from Pot 1 last season – Manchester City, Bayern München and Paris Saint-Germain – featured in this group again this time round.

Man City (ENG, Champions League holders)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23 season): 1
How they qualified: Champions League winners
Last season: Winners (W 1-0 vs Inter)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (2023)

2022/23: Pep Guardiola's side were eight points adrift of Arsenal at the start of April but won every Premier League game from that point until they wrapped up the title with two games to spare. The FA Cup followed with victory against neighbours Manchester United before they wrote their name in history when they became the tenth side to complete a league, cup and European Cup treble with a 1-0 success over Inter in the Champions League final.

Sevilla (ESP, Europa League holders)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 12
How they qualified: Europa League winners
Last season: Group stage (Europa League winners)
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1957/58, 2017/18)

2022/23: Sevilla were just two points above the relegation zone when José Luis Mendilibar took the reins in March and the turnaround in their fortunes was marked. They won six of their next eight Liga games to ensure top-flight safety, translating their upturn in domestic fortunes on to the European stage too. Man United and Juventus were dispatched before they edged out Roma on penalties to seal a record-extending seventh Europa League title.

Barcelona (ESP)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 9
How they qualified: Spanish champions
Last season: Group stage, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1991/92, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11, 2014/15)

2022/23: The Blaugrana failed to get out of the group stage for a second successive Champions League season but had more success on the domestic front. Xavi Hernández's men overcame Real Madrid to win the Spanish Super Cup and, though they suffered more European disappointment when knocked out of the Europa League by Man United, eased to a first La Liga title for four years.

Napoli (ITA)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 19
How they qualified: Italian champions
Last season: Quarter-finals (L1-2 vs Milan)
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2022/23)

2022/23: Napoli were almost untouchable until the end of March, storming way clear of the pack in Serie A and cruising through to the last eight of the Champions League under Luciano Spalletti. Defeat to Milan in those quarter-finals put a slight dampener on proceedings but a first league title since the Diego Maradona-inspired 1990 vintage ensured their season ended on a high.

Bayern München (GER)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 2
How they qualified: German champions
Last season: Quarter-finals (L 1-4agg vs Man City)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1973/74, 1974/75, 1975/76, 2000/01, 2012/13, 2019/20)

2022/23: Bayern made it three group campaigns with maximum points in four years, an impressive feat given Barcelona and Inter were in their section, but they could not halt the Man City juggernaut in the last eight. A shock defeat against Freiburg, also in the quarter-finals, of the German Cup threatened to leave them without silverware only for Thomas Tuchel's men to snatch the Bundesliga title from Dortmund in the final minutes of a thrilling title climax.

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 6
How they qualified: French champions
Last season: Round of 16 (L 0-3agg vs Bayern)
Best European Cup performance: Runners-up (2019/20)

2022/23: Being pipped to top spot in their group by Benfica proved a telling setback as Paris were then drawn against Bayern in the last 16, where they never got going against the German heavyweights. Their Ligue 1 campaign also had its ups and downs with the capital club eventually claiming the summit by just a single point from Lens, while their Coupe de France quest was ended by Marseille in the last 16.

Benfica (POR)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 17
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Last season: Quarter-finals (L 3-5agg vs Inter)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1960/61, 1961/62)

2022/23: Benfica were one of the brightest lights in last season's group stage, topping a section containing Paris and Juventus with an unbeaten record, and were too strong for Club Brugge in the round of 16 before Inter ended their impressive run in the competition. Braga squeezed out the Eagles on penalties in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals but Roger Schmidt's men had the final say in the season, holding their nerve to end a four-year wait for another league title.

Feyenoord (NED)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 17
How they qualified: Dutch champions
Last season: Europa League quarter-finals
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1969/70)

2022/23: A first Eredivisie title since 2017 was a richly-deserved reward for Arne Slot and his side after several trophy near misses. Europa Conference League runners-up in 2022, Feyenoord lost in the Dutch Cup semi-finals to Ajax and Europa League last eight to Roma after extra time last time around, but they were not to be denied in a title race they led throughout 2023.