Champions League league phase draw: Pot 3

UEFA.com takes a close look at the nine teams who are in Pot 3 for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League league phase draw.

PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP and Celtic feature here having won their respective championships in the Netherlands, Portugal and Scotland last season.

UEFA coefficient rankings as at end of the 2023/24 season.

Feyenoord (NED)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 30
How they qualified: Second in Netherlands
Last season: Group stage, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1969/70)

2023/24 season
Feyenoord's final season under coach Arne Slot was a mixed bag. The Rotterdam club failed to retain their Dutch Eredivisie title but did win the Dutch Cup for the first time since 2018 after defeating NEC Nijmegen in the final. In Europe, Feyenoord finished third in a competitive Group E in the Champions League and then fell at the first hurdle in the Europa League, losing on penalties in the knockout round play-offs to Roma – their conquerors for a third consecutive season in UEFA competition.

Sporting CP (POR)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 31
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Last season: Europa League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1982/83)

2023/24 season
Long denied a Portuguese Liga crown following their 2001/02 success, Sporting CP have now claimed two titles in four seasons after seeing off rivals Benfica and Porto to finish top. That was to be their only silverware of the season, however, the Lions losing the Portuguese Cup final to Porto, succumbing to Braga in the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, and being knocked out of the Europa League in the round of 16 by eventual winners Atalanta.

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 33
How they qualified: Dutch champions
Last season: Round of 16 (L1-3agg vs Dortmund)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1987/88)

2023/24 season
Not only did PSV win their first Eredivisie title since 2018, but they did so in some style, picking up 91 points and notching a huge total of 111 goals in the division – 19 more than second-placed Feyenoord. Reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League was also an impressive feat, although PSV will have felt disappointed to not progress past Dortmund in the round of 16 after playing so well in both meetings.

GNK Dinamo (CRO)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 39
How they qualified: Croatian champions, play-off winners (W5-0agg vs Qarabağ)
Last season: Third qualifying round, Europa League play-offs, Europa Conference League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: Group stage (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2019/20, 2022/23, 2024/25)

2023/24 season
Sergej Jakirović replaced Igor Bišćan as coach in August 2023 and steered his new side to the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, before completing a league and cup double in Croatia.

Salzburg (AUT)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 40
How they qualified: Second in Austria, play-off winners (W3-1agg vs Dynamo Kyiv)
Last season: Group stage (fourth place)
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (2021/22)

2023/24 season
Sturm Graz proved to be Salzburg's nemesis in domestic football; after downing their rivals 4-3 in a thrilling Austrian Cup semi-final, Sturm then promptly ended Salzburg's ten-season grip on the national league title. Karim Konaté's 22 goals in all competitions were some consolation.

Lille (FRA)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 45
How they qualified: Fourth in France, play-off winners (W3-2agg vs Slavia Praha)
Last season: Europa Conference League quarter-finals
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (2006/07, 2021/22)

2023/24 season
Lille made it to the last eight of the Europa Conference League (losing to Aston Villa on penalties) and finished fourth in Ligue 1, denied direct qualification for the Champions League league phase by a 2-2 draw against Nice on the final day. Coach Paulo Fonseca left for Milan in June, with Bruno Génésio appointed as his successor.

Crvena Zvezda (SRB)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 50
How they qualified: Serbian champions, play-off winners (W3-2agg vs Bodø/Glimt)
Last season: Group stage (fourth place)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1990/91)

2023/24 season
Seven points clear of Partizan at the end of the regular season, Crvena Zvezda turned on the boosters in the play-offs, ultimately winning their 15th post-Yugoslav title by an 18-point margin. They were second in the table when Vladan Milojević replaced coach Barak Bakhar in December and did not lose in their remaining 21 games (D2), winning the Serbian Cup too.

Young Boys (SUI)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 56
How they qualified: Swiss champions, play-off winners (W4-2agg vs Galatasaray)
Last season: Group stage, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Semi-finals (1958/59)

2023/24 season
Joel Monteiro and Cedric Itten delivered in front of goal as YB claimed their 17th Swiss crown (and second in succession), but it was not an easy campaign; coach Raphaël Wicky was dismissed in March, with Under-21 boss Joël Magnin overseeing the final push for the title.

Celtic (SCO)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 59
How they qualified: Scottish champions
Last season: Group stage (fourth place)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1966/67)

2023/24 season
It was another successful campaign for the Hoops as they won their 54th Scottish title and 42nd Scottish Cup. There was to be disappointment in the Champions League, however, as Celtic finished bottom of their group with just one victory in six games. Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi and now-departed Denmark midfielder Matt O'Riley shone with 19 goals each in all competitions.