We take a look at why only two of the five Spanish teams in the Champions League go to Pot 1 of the draw.
Five LaLiga teams will represent Spain in the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League draw, to be held on August 31 from 6pm. However, only two go into Pot 1 of the draw, being the so-called ‘seeds’.
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Why are Barcelona and Sevilla in the draw for the 2023/24 Champions League and neither Real Madrid nor Atlético Madrid?
The two Spanish teams that go to Pot 1 and are seeded are FC Barcelona and Sevilla, so the Catalans and Andalusians will avoid the -presumably- best teams in Europe. Neither Real Madrid nor Atlético de Madrid, two powerful LaLiga sides, will have the ‘luck’ of Barça and Sevilla. The Madrilenians go to Pot 2 of the draw, while Real Sociedad goes to Pot 4.
For several seasons, the eight seeded teams have always been the champions of the six leagues with the best UEFA coefficient, alongside the reigning Champions League champions and the reigning Europa League champions (in this case, as Manchester City are the current champions of the Uefa). the Champions League and also the winner of the Premier League, the seventh league with the best UEFA coefficient to sign up among the seeded teams).
So Barcelona goes to Pot 1 because they are 2022/23 LaLiga champions, while Sevilla do because they were Europa League champions last season. According to the UEFA coefficient, the Madrid clubs go to 2 and Real to 4.
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How are the draw drums for the Champions League group stage made?
The draw drums for the Champions League are determined by the UEFA Ranking. The UEFA ranking ranks the European teams based on the UEFA coefficient, which is taken from their results in Europe over the past five seasons.
In pot 1 there is no criterion based on the UEFA coefficient. The eight members of Pot 1 and seeded leaders are the current winners of the Champions League year after year, the current winner of the Europa League and the winners of the main European competitions (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and the Netherlands ).
Seeds in the 2023/24 Champions League draw
The eight seeded teams, i.e. the eight teams that will be in pot 1, have already been confirmed and are as follows
- Manchester City (championship winner)
- Sevilla (Europa League winner)
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- psg
- Benfica
- Naples
- feyenoord
Source: Goal