Real Madrid, Barça and Atlético come out of the draw for the Champions League well

Bad luck for Sevilla being seeded and Real Sociedad will have options to advance

Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid had good luck this Thursday in the Champions League draw with groups in which they will be favorites to advance to the crosses, while Real Sociedad also came out well despite starting from the hype 4, quite the opposite of a more unfortunate Seville.

Real Madrid will seek its fifteenth European Cup from Group C that it shares with Napoli, its biggest rival, Braga and Unión Berlin. Meanwhile, Barça, which last year did not make it past the initial phase by a tough group, this time had better luck in Group H along with Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Antwerp.

On the other hand, Atlético de Madrid will play against Feyenoord, Lazio and Celtic in Group E, while Sevilla, who suffered the worst draw of the Spanish teams considering that they were seeded, will face Arsenal, PSV and Lens in Group B. In their return to the Champions League 10 years later, Real Sociedad will play against Benfica, Inter Milan and Salzburg in Group D.

Madrid, with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm and heading into this season with the star signing of Jude Bellingham, will be favorites to reach the round of 16. The whites started from pot 2 and fell into Group C of a Napoli that wants to raise last year's bet as Italian champion with Rudi García.

The French coach aspires to save two key pieces such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen before the market closes, and also has the atmosphere of Diego Armando Maradona. Braga, led by Spanish striker Abel Ruiz, and Unión Berlín, debuting in the Champions League and whose offensive game is based on set pieces, should not be problems for a Madrid that is looking for 15th place.

Meanwhile, Barça will face old acquaintances such as Porto, against whom they have faced eight times, although the last one was more than a decade ago, in the 2011 European Super Cup, which ended 2-0 thanks to goals of Messi and Cesc Fabregas. Xavi Hernández will meet a Nico González that he did not count on and the culé fans will meet Pepe, the former Real Madrid player.

In addition, Shakhtar Donetsk has also had several duels with Barça in its history, up to nine. The Ukrainians, who because of the war in their country will play at home in Hamburg (Germany), have former Barça player Dmitró Chygrynskiy and a very young team. Antwerp, in its first presence in the Champions League, completes Group H as the revelation team of the Belgian League.

On the other hand, Atlético de Madrid will have rivals they don't trust in Feyenoord and Lazio, with the colors of Celtic no longer intimidating as before. After a campaign in which they were left out of Europe in November, Diego Pablo Simeone's men will go game by game, but the 'Orejona' is the club's biggest objective after losing those two finals against Madrid in 2014 and 2016.

For José Luis Mendilibar's Sevilla, the draw was not entirely bad, but being the top seed, as champions of the Europa League, the Sevillians would have wanted a more affordable path. The Andalusian team will play Group B with Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven, Lens being a less powerful rival.

The 'Gunner' team, led by the Spanish Mikel Arteta, is an aspirant to win the Premier after staying close last year, while the Dutch is a very offensive team that will undoubtedly demand 'Mendi'. French Lens return to the Champions League after their last appearance in 2002/03.

Finally, back to the top continental competition a decade later, Real Sociedad will have options to advance to the round of 16 despite having rivals of a good level. Benfica and Inter Milan undoubtedly appear to be very demanding, while Salzburg already eliminated the Basques from the Europa League in 2018.

--CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUPS:

GROUP A: Bayern Múnich, Manchester United, Copenhague, Galatasaray.

GROUP B: SEVILLE, Arsenal, PSV, Lens.

GROUP C: Naples, REAL MADRID, Braga, Union Berlin.

GROUP D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Salzburg, ROYAL SOCIEDAD.

GROUP E: Feyenoord, ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, Lazio, Celtic.

GRUPO F: PSG, Dortmund, Milan, Newcastle.

GROUP G: Manchester City, Leipzig, Red Star, Young Boys.

GROUP H: FC BARCELONA, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Antwerp.