Chapter 123: The Super Death Group

It's just that there is not much time left in the game, and by the time the referee blew the whistle for the whole game, Griezmann failed to complete the goal of "returning back" the cake, it seems that Li Qingshan's appetite for this game is not very good.

But in the end, Atletico Madrid won the first round of the 2014-2015 La Liga season away and got off to a good start to the season.

After the match against Vallecano, the team did not have to travel anymore, which is one of the benefits of the local derby. After the game, Simeone announced that he would give the team a day off. Atletico Madrid's next game is six days later, on 31 August, at home to Eibar. In the meantime, UEFA will hold a draw for the 2014-2015 Champions League group stage in Monaco on 28 August.

As last season's defending champions, Simeone, captain Gabi, and the team's president, Cerezo, will leave Madrid for Monaco to participate in the draw for the Champions League group.

This time around, Atletico Madrid is not the new face of the Champions League that not many people paid attention to last season, but they came to Monaco with the aura of the reigning Champions League champions.

The defending champions are certainly one of the most watched teams.

Under the gaze of many eye-catching eyes, what strong enemies will await them?

Everything will be revealed after the Champions League draw ceremony.

...........

According to the rules of the Champions League group stage, the top eight teams in the Champions League will be seeded, which is also the team in Pot 1.

The other teams are also ranked according to the same points rules, divided into Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4.

In the Champions League group stage, one team will be drawn from each group and four teams will form a group for a two-legged knockout round, home and away. The top two teams in the group advance to the last 16 of the Champions League, while the group stage draw follows the same league team avoidance principle. In other words, Spain's four teams in the Champions League will not be drawn into one group.

Atletico Madrid has won the UEFA Cup and the Champions League since Simeone took office, so Atletico Madrid's Champions League points rank seventh in Europe and are one of the eight seeded teams in Pot 1.

The advantage of being seeded is that you can avoid the stronger teams in the group stage, such as Bayern Munich.

But in fact, there are also some teams in Pot 2 and Pot 3 that have the strength to win the Champions League, such as Dortmund, Juventus, Manchester City, and other teams in Pot 2 this season.

This is also a problem brought about by UEFA's current bracket principle, which is based on the ranking of UEFA points, which can lead to a situation where the league winners are lower than the non-champions, for example, if Atletico Madrid's UEFA points are outside the top eight, then even if they are the defending champions of the Champions League, even if they beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to win La Liga, then Atletico Madrid can only be used as a second-tier team. Barcelona and Real Madrid, on the other hand, are in Pot 1.

This is the case in the Champions League group stage this season. Defending Premier League champions Manchester City are in Pot 2 due to their low UEFA standings, while Arsenal, who finished second and fourth in the league last season, are in Pot 1.

However, a few days before the draw for the Champions League group stage this season, it was revealed in the media that UEFA will revise the rules for the Champions League group stage, and the reigning champions of the Champions League and the league winners of the top seven UEFA leagues will form eight seeded teams.

UEFA president Michel Platini and other top brassips hope that the new rules will prevent this from happening and that the league title will be given a higher level than the rest of their home league.

But in any case, the changes will need to be approved by UEFA's Executive Committee, whose next meeting will be held on 18 September, and the new rules will not be implemented until next season at the earliest.

...........

Before the draw, Atletico Madrid were not too worried about the Champions League draw, as a team in Pot 1, unless the team's luck is particularly bad, the probability of drawing a group of death is not high.

But Atletico Madrid's luck doesn't look good......

After the draw, neither Simeone nor Gabi looked very good, while Atletico Madrid president Cerezo was directly captured by the camera with a wry smile and shaking his head.

Atletico Madrid was divided into Group A, and when the teams in their group were drawn out one by one, there was even some obvious commotion on the scene, and the outside world was in an uproar.

Looking at the members of their group, the first is the defending Champions League champion Atletico Madrid, the second pot is drawn from the Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, and the third pot is drawn from the English team Liverpool.

When these three teams are drawn together, a Champions League group stage group of death has already taken shape.

However, what is even more cruel is that when the fourth team in Group A is drawn, almost no one can be calm.

Riddle, the former German anglican who was the guest of the draw, opened the label in his hand and showed it to the camera, and the TV camera clearly saw that the fourth team in Group A was drawn out - Roma!

Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Roma!

Super Group of Death!

Of course, the cameras immediately found the staff representing the four teams on the scene, and almost every member of the team had the same look of hell. Such a group grouping is really .......... It's fucked up.

As soon as the results of the draw came out, the German media were the first to report on them.

There are four teams competing in the Champions League this season. After looking at the grouping of Atletico Madrid in Group A, the grouping of the other three La Liga teams has gradually been drawn.

Real Madrid have been drawn in Group B, which includes Swiss side Basel, Greek side Olympiacos and Bulgarian side Ludogorec Razgrad. This is almost a guarantee of the round of 16, with no team in this group threatening Real Madrid, and the other three teams will have to fight for a second place in the group.

Barcelona is divided into Group F with Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax, and the Cypriot team Atletico Greek, which is more difficult than Real Madrid's grouping, but Barcelona is basically no problem qualifying, Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax have a chance to compete for another qualifying spot, and Atletico Greeks is basically playing soy sauce.

The other La Liga team competing in the Champions League is Athletic Bilbao. They were drawn in Group H with Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Borisov. In a way, this is also a group of death, because Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Athletic Bilbao are very close in quality, and it will be very difficult for anyone to break through from the group.

La Liga media analysis of Real Madrid and Barcelona to qualify first in the group is a high probability event, and the probability of Atletico Madrid qualifying is also very high, but if Atletico Madrid can't get the first place in the group, when participating in the draw for the quarterfinals as the second in the group, it will face the group first of other groups, and the probability of drawing some super giants will be greatly increased.

And many La Liga media still believe that in the case of the three main players, the most realistic consideration for Atletico Madrid this season is to integrate the team, focusing on the domestic league, to ensure that it can compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid. Wait until next season when the team is fully mature, and then go to the Champions League to achieve better results.