That\u2019s all from me for this evening, thanks for following along.<\/p>\n
While we were focusing on the Champions League draw, Shamrock Rovers suffered a 1-0 defeat away to KuPS, 2-1 on aggregate, seeing them out of the Conference League playoffs.<\/p>\n
Gavin Cummiskey\u2019s report on the match in Kuopio will be on The Irish Times website<\/a> shortly.<\/p>\n And FINALLY, Pot 4:<\/p>\n Slavia Prague<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; Sabah A<\/p>\n Stuttgart<\/p>\n Pot 1: Atl\u00e9tico H; Inter A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Club Brugge H; PSV A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Lille H; Galatasaray A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Viking H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Como<\/p>\n Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Manchester United H; Real Betis A<\/p>\n Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A<\/p>\n Lens<\/p>\n Pot 1: Manchester City H; Liverpool A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Sporting H; Club Brugge A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Bodo\/Glimt H; RB Leipzig A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Slavia Prague A<\/p>\n LASK<\/p>\n Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Sporting A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo\/Glimt A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n Slovan Bratislava<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; PSG A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Real Betis H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Stuttgart H; LASK A<\/p>\n Viking<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atl\u00e9tico A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Aston Villa A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Napoli A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Stuttgart A<\/p>\n Sabah<\/p>\n Pot 1: Barcelona H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Manchester United A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Napoli H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; Viking A<\/p>\n AEK Athens<\/p>\n Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Shakhtar Donetsk A<\/p>\n Pot 4: LASK H; Como A<\/p>\n And the Pot 3 teams:<\/p>\n Galatasaray <\/p>\n Pot 1: Barcelona H; PSG A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Sporting A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Stuttgart H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n Villarreal<\/p>\n Pot 1: PSG H; Liverpool A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Manchester United H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Napoli H; Fenerbahce A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A<\/p>\n Napoli<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Club Brugge H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Bodo\/Glimt H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Viking H; Sabah A<\/p>\n RB Leipzig<\/p>\n Pot 1: Manchester City H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; Como A<\/p>\n Fenerbahce <\/p>\n Pot 1: Liverpool H; Atl\u00e9tico A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Villarreal H; Shakhtar Donetsk A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; LASK A<\/p>\n Feyenoord<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; Barcelona A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Real Betis A<\/p>\n Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Galatasaray A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Viking A<\/p>\n Shakhtar Donetsk<\/p>\n Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Inter A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Sporting H; PSV A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; RB Leipzig A<\/p>\n Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Lille<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Real Betis H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Bodo\/Glimt A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Stuttgart A<\/p>\n Bodo\/Glimt<\/p>\n Pot 1: Atl\u00e9tico H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Manchester United A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; Como A<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the cards fell for all the Pot 2 teams:<\/p>\n Manchester United<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atl\u00e9tico Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Sporting A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Leipzig H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Como A<\/p>\n Real Betis<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Club Brugge <\/p>\n Pot 1: Liverpool H; Inter A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Aston Villa H; PSV A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Bodo\/Glimt H; Napoli A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; Stuttgart A<\/p>\n Dortmund<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Real Betis H; Aston Villa A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Villarreal H; Bodo Glimt A<\/p>\n Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Sabah A<\/p>\n Porto<\/p>\n Pot 1: Manchester City H; Liverpool A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Real Betis A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Napoli H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slavia Prague H; LASK A<\/p>\n Aston Villa<\/p>\n Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Club Brugge A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Galatasaray A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Viking H; Slavia Prague A<\/p>\n Roma<\/p>\n Pot 1: Real Madrid H; PSG A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Sporting H; Manchester United A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Lille H; Feverbahce A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n Sporting<\/p>\n Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Manchester United H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Shakhtar Donetsk A<\/p>\n Pot 4: LASK H; Lens A<\/p>\n PSV<\/p>\n Pot 1: Atl\u00e9tico H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Club Brugge H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Leipzig A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Viking A<\/p>\n That\u2019s the draw complete. Somehow, it managed to be both a marathon and a sprint.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll work our way through the ties from the latter pots shortly, but for now, here\u2019s the confirmed fixture of the top-ranked clubs. (Remember, these are ranked by pot, not date. The confirmed fixture details will be shared on Saturday.)<\/p>\n Arsenal<\/p>\n Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Bayern Munich A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Real Betis A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Lille H; Napoli A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A<\/p>\n Liverpool<\/p>\n Pot 1: Atl\u00e9tico Madrid H; Inter A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Club Brugge A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; LASK A<\/p>\n Manchester City<\/p>\n Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Sporting H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Napoli H; RB Leipzig A<\/p>\n Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A<\/p>\n Paris Saint-Germain<\/p>\n Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Como A<\/p>\n Real Madrid<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Leipzig H; Shakhtar A<\/p>\n Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n Barcelona<\/p>\n Pot 1: Manchester City H; PSG A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Galatasary A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Sabah A<\/p>\n Inter Milan<\/p>\n Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Club Brugee H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Atl\u00e9tico Madrid<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Liverpool A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Manchester United H; PSV A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo\/Glimt A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Viking H; Stuttgart A<\/p>\n Bayern Munich<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Atl\u00e9tic Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Real Betis H; Manchester United A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Bodo\/Glimt H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slavia Praha H; Viking A<\/p>\n The Pot 4 teams are drawn as follows: <\/p>\n Lens, Slavia Prague, Sabah, Stuttgart, Como, LASK, Viking, AEK Athens, and Slovan Bratislava.<\/p>\n One last pot to go. Here are the teams in Pot 4 (with their club coefficient rank), who are just waiting to learn their Pot 4 opponents:<\/p>\n 28. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)<\/p>\n 29. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)<\/p>\n 30. Stuttgart (Germany)<\/p>\n 31. AEK Athens (Greece)<\/p>\n 32. LASK (Austria)<\/p>\n 33. Como (Italy)<\/p>\n 34. Lens (France)<\/p>\n 35. Viking (Norway)<\/p>\n 36. Sabah (Azerbaijan)<\/p>\n Wild switch-up for Pot 3, Henry is gone over to take control of the button for the automated system while Villa will do the manual draws.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Shakhtar Donetsk out first, followed by Villarreal.<\/p>\n Bodo\/Glimt, RB Leipzig, Fenerbahce and Feyenoord are next to be drawn.<\/p>\n Galatasaray, Napoli and Lille complete Pot 3.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll confirm all the ties shortly.<\/p>\n The draw is speeding up now because of all the known ties.<\/p>\n The order the Pot 2 teams are drawn is as follows: Club Brugge, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Aston Villa, Real Betis, Roma, Manchester United, Sporting, and PSV.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll confirm all of their respective matchups, but let\u2019s start with Manchester United:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Atl\u00e9tico Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Sporting A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Leipzig H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Como A<\/p>\n And here\u2019s what Troy Parrott and his new team-mates at Real Betis have to look forward to:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Bayern Munich A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Just a note, the fixtures are listed by pot, not in order of how the games will necessarily be played.<\/p>\n And finally for Pot 1, Bayern Munich:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Arsenal H; Atl\u00e9tic Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Real Betis H; Manchester United A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Bodo\/Glimt H; Lille A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slavia Praha H; Viking A<\/p>\n Then two Premier League sides out in succession.<\/p>\n First, Liverpool:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Atl\u00e9tico Madrid H; Inter A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Porto H; Club Brugge A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Villarreal H; Fenerbahce A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Lens H; LASK A<\/p>\n Then Arsenal:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Real Madrid H; Bayern Munich A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund H; Real Betis A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Lille H; Napoli A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Sabah H; Slavia Prague A<\/p>\n Reigning back-to-back champions PSG are out next:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Barcelona H; Manchester City A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Roma H; Aston Villa A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Galatasaray H; Villarreal A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava H; Como A<\/p>\n For Real Madrid, it\u2019s:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Leipzig H; Shakhtar A<\/p>\n Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n And Atl\u00e9tico Madrid:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Bayern Munich H; Liverpool A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Manchester United H; PSV A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Fenerbahce H; Bodo\/Glimt A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Viking H; Stuttgart A<\/p>\n Inter Milan out next:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Liverpool H; Real Madrid A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Club Brugee H; Borussia Dortmund A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk H; Feyenoord A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Stuttgart H; Slovan Bratislava A<\/p>\n Then it\u2019s Barcelona<\/p>\n Pot 1: Manchester City H; PSG A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Aston Villa H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Feyenoord H; Galatasary A<\/p>\n Pot 4: Como H; Sabah A<\/p>\n Next is Manchester City:<\/p>\n Pot 1: PSG H; Barcelona A<\/p>\n Pot 2: Sporting H; Porto A<\/p>\n Pot 3: Napoli H; RB Leipzig A<\/p>\n Pot 4: AEK Athens H; Lens A<\/p>\n Henry will manually draw the teams from the bowls, Villa will kick-off the automated system.<\/p>\n First club out is Real Madrid.<\/p>\n The automated system gives them the following fixtures:<\/p>\n Pot 1: Inter H; Arsenal A<\/p>\n Pot 2: PSV H; Roma A<\/p>\n Pot 3: RB Leipzig H; Shakhtar Donetsk A<\/p>\n Pot 4: LASK H; AEK Athens A<\/p>\n All the explaining out of the way, there\u2019s a quick video to show us out Pot 1 teams, who are: <\/p>\n 1. Paris Saint-Germain (France)<\/p>\n 2. Bayern Munich (Germany)<\/p>\n 3. Real Madrid (Spain)<\/p>\n 4. Liverpool (England)<\/p>\n 5. Inter Milan (Italy)<\/p>\n 6. Manchester City (England)<\/p>\n 7. Arsenal (England)<\/p>\n 8. Barcelona (Spain)<\/p>\n 9. Atl\u00e9tico Madrid (Spain)<\/p>\n The chatting is done, thankfully. The draw is ready to get going.<\/p>\n Uefa deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti joins the gang on stage. He gives a quick recap of last season and welcomes along the first-time qualifiers.<\/p>\n Oh yay, an explainer video to chat us through the draw procedure. We could be here another awhile yet.<\/p>\n Henry\u2019s going to stick around and help with the draw, along with former Barcelona striker David Villa, who also fields a few questions on his Champions League memories.<\/p>\n Now, on to the Uefa President\u2019s Award.<\/p>\n It goes to Thierry Henry.<\/p>\n \u010ceferin says he knew Henry as a \u201ccold-blooded striker, without any emotions on the field\u201d, but commends him on his efforts to tackle discrimination in the sport and his charity work since hanging up his boots.<\/p>\n They\u2019re having a bit of a chat with Henry now, going over some fond and not-so-fond Champions League memories. He was a runner-up with Arsenal in 2006 before sealing the title with Barcelona in 2009, beating Manchester United in the final.<\/p>\n Before the draw, we\u2019re going to celebrate \u201ctwo very special individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n Uefa president Aleksander \u010ceferin takes to the stage to first tell us about the Respect: Beyond the Game award.<\/p>\n The recipient is PSG captain Marquinhos. \u010ceferin highlights how Marquinhos comforted Arsenal players after his side\u2019s Champions League victory in May.<\/p>\n PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi picks up the award on Marquinhos\u2019 behalf.<\/p>\n As we\u2019re played in with a live version of the Champions League anthem, here are the make-ups of the four pots, with their relevant club coefficient rankings:<\/p>\n Pot 1<\/p>\n 1. Paris Saint-Germain (France); 2. Bayern Munich (Germany); 3. Real Madrid (Spain); 4. Liverpool (England); 5. Inter Milan (Italy); 6. Manchester City (England); 7. Arsenal (England); 8. Barcelona (Spain); 9. Atl\u00e9tico Madrid (Spain)<\/p>\n Pot 2<\/p>\n 10. Borussia Dortmund (Germany); 11. Roma (Italy); 12. Sporting (Portugal); 13. Aston Villa (England); 14. Porto (Portugal); 15. Manchester United (England); 16. Club Brugge (Belgium); 17. Real Betis (Spain); 18. PSV (Netherlands)<\/p>\n Pot 3<\/p>\n 19. Feyenoord (Netherlands); 20. LOSC Lille (France); 21. Bodo\/Glimt (Norway); 22. Napoli (Italy); 23. RB Leipzig (Germany); 24. Villarreal (Spain); 25. Fenerbahce (Turkey); 26. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine); 27. Galatasaray (Turkey)<\/p>\n Pot 4<\/p>\n 28. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic); 29. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia); 30. Stuttgart (Germany); 31. AEK Athens (Greece); 32. LASK (Austria); 33. Como (Italy); 34. Lens (France); 35. Viking (Norway); 36. Sabah (Azerbaijan)<\/p>\n The draw is almost ready to get under way in Monaco.<\/p>\n On the home\/away aspect of the draw \u2013 which will be determined by the all-knowing, all-powerful automated system \u2013 of the two fixtures each team will have against opponents from the four different pots, one will be played at home, the other away.<\/p>\n Uefa are simply incapable of conducting a straightforward draw, so class is in session.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s league-phase draw will see the 36 teams split into four pots of nine based on their club coefficient rankings at the start of the year. The top nine ranked seeds will be in Pot 1 (with reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain ranked first), 10-18 in Pot 2, etc.<\/p>\n The draw will be a mix of manual and digital. Stick with me here. A ball will manually be picked from Pot 1. When the club is revealed, automated software will randomly draw eight opponents; two teams from each of the four pots. The automated system will also determine whether these fixtures will be played at home or away.<\/p>\n The automated system takes into account that a team cannot play a side from their own association (ie Premier League teams, which come under the English FA, cannot play each other), and a team can play a maximum of two teams from the same association (ie an English team can only play two Spanish teams).<\/p>\n This procedure will be repeated for all the teams in Pot 1.<\/p>\n With all the teams from Pot 1 assigned, the draw will move on to Pot 2. The teams will be drawn from Pot 2, already knowing their Pot 1 opponents, so one manually drawn from the bowl, the automated system will assign their remaining six opponents (two teams each from Pots 2, 3 and 4). Again, the system will also determine whether the games will be played at home or away.<\/p>\n The draw continues to Pot 3, when only teams from Pots 3 and 4 will need to be assigned, and then Pot 4, when the remaining teams in that bowl will learn their fate.<\/p>\n I\u2019d suggest not getting too hung up on understanding the process. Just follow along and we\u2019ll let you know how it all turns out.<\/p>\n Five Premier League teams involved in this evening\u2019s draw: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.<\/p>\n