[Official] Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae to face off in Champions League! UCL League Phase draw finalized

*This content was translated by AI.

The 'War of Stars' UEFA Champions League (UCL) League Phase draw has been finalized. Lee Kang-in (Atlético Madrid) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) will face each other in a 'Korean derby' on the UCL main stage.

On the 28th (Korea time), UEFA conducted and announced the draw for all 36 participating teams in the UCL League Phase, assigning them to pots based on their rankings. This time, only the matchups—each team playing eight games—were drawn; the schedule and other details will be released later. The UCL League Phase begins with the first round of matches from the 9th–11 next month and continues until January 28 next year.

The draw was conducted by dividing the 36th teams into four pots of nine teams each, based on UEFA club rankings and other criteria. Each team would then face two opponents from each pot through a random draw. For example, Atlético (AT) Madrid, where Lee Kang-in plays, belongs to Pot 1. The draw determined that they will face two teams from Pot 1, two from Pot 2, two from Pot 3, and two from Pot 4—totaling eight opponents. In addition to the matchups, home or away status for each game was also finalized on this day.

Through this draw format, a matchup between Atlético Madrid (Lee Kang-in's team) and Bayern Munich (Kim Min-jae's team) has been set. The two teams will clash at Atlético's home ground. Besides Munich, Atlético will also face Liverpool (England). Manchester United (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands; both Pot 2), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Bodø/Glimt (Norway; both Pot 3), Viking FK (Norway), and Stuttgart (Germany; both Pot 4) are also Atlético's main-stage opponents.

In the case of Munich, besides Atlético Madrid, they will face Arsenal (Pot 1), Real Betis (Spain), Manchester United (both Pot 2), Bodø/Glimt and Lille (France; both Pot 3), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), and Viking (both Pot 4) to determine their advancement to the Round of 16.

Additionally, FC Porto (Portugal), where Hwang In-beom plays, will face Manchester City (England) and Liverpool (both Pot 1), Eindhoven and Betis (both Pot 2), Napoli (Italy) and Feyenoord (both Pot 3), Slavia Prague and LASK (Austria; both Pot 4) in the UCL main stage.

Furthermore, Club Brugge (Belgium), where Lee Han-beom plays, will clash with Liverpool and Inter Milan (Italy; both Pot 1), Aston Villa (England) and Eindhoven (both Pot 2), Bodø/Glimt and Napoli (both Pot 3), and Reims (France) and Stuttgart (both Pot 4).

In matchups between Pot 1 teams, 'defending champions' Paris Saint-Germain (PSG; France) will face Barcelona (Spain) and Manchester City, while Real Madrid (Spain) will face Inter Milan and Arsenal respectively.

Each team participating in the UCL main stage will be ranked from first to 36th overall based on their results against eight opponents. Teams finishing 1st to 8th advance directly to the Round of 16, while those ranked 9th to 24th compete in a playoff round to determine who advances to the Round of 16. Teams ranked 25th to 36th are eliminated.

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*This content was translated by AI.