2022/23 Champions League: full schedule and important dates
The 2022/23 Champions League group stage has been adapted to suit the World Cup. Here is the full list of dates up to the final in Istanbul.
The Champions League is celebrating its 68th edition - the 31st since the competition was rebranded in 1992, and this season’s will be very different to others in that the World Cup finals will be played between the group and knockout stages.
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The 2022/23 Champions League got underway with the preliminary rounds, starting on 21 June up to the play-offs which were concluded this week. Six teams qualified for the group stage via the qualification route - Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa, Copenhagen, Rangers, Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb along with 26 teams who automatically qualified due to their final position in their respective domestic leagues. Among that group are 15 clubs who ended last season as champions of their domestic league.
The clubs who qualified automatically are: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Olympique Marseille, PSG, Porto, Sporting Clube, Ajax, Salzburg, Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk and Club Brugge.
Champions League Group Stage draw
The draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League was completed on Thursday evening in Istanbul, with the following Groups being drawn.
Champions League Groups:
Group A: Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli, Rangers
Group B: Porto, At. Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Brugge
Group C: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter, Viktoria Plzen
Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Spurs, Sporting CP, Marseille
Group E: Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb
Group F: Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar, Celtic
Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Dortmund, Copenhagen
Group H: PSG, Juventus, Benfica, Maccabi Hafia
2022/23 Champions League group stage dates
The 2022/23 Champions League group stage begins with the Matchday 1 fixtures being played over two days - Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 September 2022. The group stage will conclude earlier on this occasion, on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 November 2022, in time to accommodate the World Cup in Qatar which gets underway later that month.
Champions League group stage
Matchday 1: 6/7 September
Matchday 2: 13/14 September
Matchday 3: 4/5 October
Matchday 4: 11/12 October
Matchday 5: 25/26 October
Matchday 6: 1/2 November
The Round of 16 draw will take place on Monday 7 November
Round of 16
The winners and runners-up from the eight groups will advance to the Round of 16 with the group winners seeded above the runners-up. This stage involves two-legged ties which will be played on 14/15/21/22 February and 7/8/14/15 March 2023. The winners from each tie will go through to the quarter finals. It’s important to note here that from last year, away goals no longer count in the knockout rounds - a tie that ends level after the home and away matches have been played will go to extra-time - 15 minutes per half. At the end of that, if the score is still level, the game will be resolved by a penalty shootout.
The remaining teams will go into one last draw to determine who meets who in the quarter finals, how the semi-finals will be configured and also which team will be the ‘home team’ in the final.
The draw for the quarter finals and semi-finals will be held on Friday 17 March 2023
Quarter finals:
First leg: 11 and 12 April 2023
Second leg: 18 and 19 April 2023
Semi-finals:
First leg: 9 and 10 May 2023
Second leg: 16 and 17 May 2023
Final: 10 June 2023
The 2022/23 Champions League final will be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday 10 June 2023.