There will be no shortage of big matches in the coming Champions League weeks. The new format has paid off in this respect, as the draw for the league phase on Thursday proved.
Whereas in the abolished group stage of the Champions League, matches between the absolute top teams were still a rarity because the best teams were protected by their status as seeded teams in the draw, there are now numerous top pairings in the preliminary round. Defending champions Real Madrid, for example, will face Dortmund with Gregor Kobel, Liverpool and Milan with Noah Okafor, among others. Manchester City with Manuel Akanji will face Yann Sommer's Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus Turin.
Granit Xhaka and Leverkusen welcome both Milan clubs, Milan and Inter. The German champions also travel to Liverpool and Atletico Madrid. A remarkable clash from a Swiss perspective will take place between Bologna and Monaco, with a Swiss trio on both sides: Remo Freuler/Michel Aebischer/Dan Ndoye for the Italians and Breel Embolo/Denis Zakaria/Philipp Köhn for Monaco.
