Champions League Hammer opponents for YB - Swiss champions play against Barça, Inter and Stuttgart

YB will face eight different opponents in the newly created league phase of the Champions League. Barcelona, Inter Milan and Stuttgart are tough opponents for the Swiss champions.

It's a nice program that UEFA's super computer has put together for the Swiss champions. Between mid-September and the end of January, they will play Inter Milan, Atalanta Bergamo, Red Star Belgrade and Aston Villa at home. The Bernese will play away games at Barcelona, Celtic Glasgow, Stuttgart and in Gelsenkirchen against Shakhtar Donetsk. The detailed fixture list will be announced on Saturday.

The highlights for YB will be the home game against Yann Sommer's Inter Milan as well as the trips to Barcelona and to ex-YB player Fabian Rieder in Stuttgart. The points are more likely to come against the lesser-known teams: Red Star Belgrade, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic Glasgow appear on paper to be on a par with the Bernese. Atalanta Bergamo and Aston Villa are not quite as prestigious clubs as others from Serie A and the Premier League respectively, but their teams are very highly rated.

World stars in the Wankdorf

Thanks to the strong play-off against Galatasaray Istanbul, players such as the Argentinian world champions Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) and Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) will be on show in the Wankdorf in the coming weeks, as well as football artists such as Henrich Michitarjan, Hakan Calhanoglu (both Inter Milan) and Nicolo Zaniolo (Atalanta Bergamo). However, the Bernese players are probably most familiar with Red Star Belgrade, which was a preliminary round opponent in the last Champions League.

Top pairings en masse were drawn in Monaco. In a process in which Gianluigi Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo acted as computer assistants, the software spit out the opponents. The matches of the best teams, i.e. those in pot 1, were announced first, and then it went down the pecking order to the top 4. YB was placed in pot 3. However, the categorization no longer plays a major role, as each team is drawn against two opponents from each pot.

Live ticker to read

• Liveticker

  New posts
• Liveticker closed
YB's opponents

- Inter Milan (home)
- Barcelona (away)
- Atalanta (home)
- Shakhtar Donetsk (away)
- Red Star Belgrade (home)
- Celtic Glasgow (away)
- Aston Villa (home)
- Stuttgart (away)

The dates of the matches will be announced next Saturday.

The draw is over

So, that's it. The league phase begins on September 17. Uefa will announce next Saturday when YB will face their opponents.

The draw in pot 3

BSC Young Boys: Inter Milan, Barcelona, Atalanta, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Star Belgrade, Celtic Glasgow, Aston Villa, Stuttgart

The draw in pot 2

Atlético Madrid: Leipzig, PSG, Leverkusen, Benfica, Lille, Salzburg, Bratislava, Sparta Prague

Atalanta: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic, YB, Sturm Graz, Stuttgart

Bruges: Dortmund, Manchester City, Juventurs, Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Celtic, Aston Villa, Sturm Graz

Leverkusen: Inter Milan, Liverpool, Milan, Atlético, Salzburg, Feyenord, Spara Prague, Brest

Arsenal: PSG, Inter, Atalanta, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Sportin Lisbon, Monaco, Girona

Benfica: Barcelona, Bayern, Atlético, Juventur, Feyenoord, Red Star, Bologna, Monaco

Milan: Real Madrid, Bruges, Leverkusen, Red Star, Dinamo Zagreb, Girona, Bratislava

Juventus: Manchester City, Leipzig, Benfica, Bruges, PSV, Lille, Stuttgart, Aston Villa

Shakhtar Donetsk: Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Atalanta, Arsenal, YB, PSV, Brest, Bologna

The draw in pot 1

Manchester City: Inter Milan, PSG, Bruges, Juventus Turin, Feyenord, Sporting Lisbon, Sparta Prague, Slovan Bratislava

Inter Milan: Leipzig, Manchester City, Arsenal, Leverkusen, Red Star Belgrade, YB, Monaco, Sparta Prague

Bayern Munich: PSG, Barcelona, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord,

Leipzig: Liverpool, Inter Milan, Juventus, Sporting Lisbon, Celtic, Aston Villa, Sturm Graz

Dortmund: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bruges, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Sturm Graz, Bologna

Barcelona: Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Atalanta, Benfica, YB, Red Star Belgrade, Brest, Monaco

Real Madrid: Dortmund, Liverpool, AC Milan, Atalanta, Salzburg, Lille, Stuttgart, Brest

Liverpool: Real Madrid, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Milan, Lille, PSV, Bologna, Girona

PSG: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, Arsenal, PSV, Salzburg, Girona, Stuttgart

The software is ready

So, enough with the videos and awards. It's time for the draw. First a team is drawn manually by lot, then a computer decides on the matches.

Ibrahimovic brings light into the darkness

How does the new Champions League mode work? Uefa addresses this question in a video clip. Luis Figo, Alessandro Del Piero and City star Rodri are protagonists who don't quite understand the new mode. Ibrahimovic explains in an amusing and funny video - without going into detail.

Here are a few details about the new mode: 36 teams face eight different opponents in a league phase. There is now only one table. The top 8 qualify directly for the round of 16. The remaining places in the round of 16 will be awarded in knockout playoffs. A team ranked 9th to 16th will face a team ranked 17th to 24th.

Ronaldo also honored

Cristiano Ronaldo is now on stage in Monaco. Uefa honored the Portuguese for his records in the Champions League. Ceferin regrets not seeing the superstar in the Champions League.

Ronaldo, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, is the record goalscorer with 140 goals in 183 Champions League games, ahead of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski. The Argentine has scored 129 times, the Pole 94 times. Ronaldo has topped the scoring charts after one Champions League season seven times, more than any other player.

He will put the trophy Ronaldo receives from Uefa in his museum in Madeira: "There's still room for it."

Uefa President Ceferin honors Gianluigi Buffon

Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin presents Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon with the "President's Award". Buffon announced his retirement last August. Ceferin praises the Italian for his services.

The time has come: the draw begins!

Who will YB face in the league phase of the Champions League? We'll know more soon. The draw begins with the top teams from Pot 1, with YB at home in Pot 3.

Varela wants Dortmund and Real for YB

blue Sport expert Carlos Varela, who played for YB between 2005 and 2009, wishes his former club attractive opponents: "Dortmund would be a dream, a yellow and black derby. And Real Madrid. Who wouldn't want to play against Real? The fans and players would never forget that."

Top clubs are also waiting in pot 2. And Varela hopes that the Bernese can compete with the best. "Leverkusen, Arsenal, Atlético ... I would like to see YB against these teams." From pots 3 and 4, the blue Sport expert prefers beatable opponents. After all, YB should also pick up a point or two for Switzerland. Varela: "You don't want to be a laughing stock in the Champions League."

The ex-YB professional would prefer to avoid French teams such as Lille or Brest. He would prefer opponents like Red Star Belgrade or Dinamo Zagreb. "But at home", adds Varela, "then that's doable for YB". Sturm Graz and Slovan Bratislava are also beatable.

YB is drawn from pot 3

Each team will play two teams in each pot. The UEFA coefficient and thus the performance of the teams in recent years is decisive for the division of the four pots. As a restriction: matches between league rivals are still excluded, and a team will not play against several teams from the same country.

The Champions League draw pots

• Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, FC Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool FC, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, FC Barcelona
• Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta Bergamo, Juventus Turin, Benfica Lisbon, FC Arsenal, FC Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
• Pot 3: Feyenoord Rotterdam, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic Glasgow, FC Salzburg, BSC Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille OSC, Red Star Belgrade
• Pot 4: VfB Stuttgart, AS Monaco, Aston Villa, FC Bologna, FC Girona, Sturm Graz, Stade Brest, Sparta Prague, Slovan Bratislava

Show more

Hello ...

and welcome to the draw for the league phase of the Champions League, which is being conducted by computer for the first time in Monaco. The classic draw with the lottery balls is no longer possible with the new mode. Over 900 balls and 36 pots would be required. For this reason, software takes over the difficult part of the draw. The teams drawn are assigned their opponents by the computer.

New draw procedureA computer determines YB's Champions League opponents

How the new Champions League mode works

• 36 teams are part of the new Champions League mode.
• In a so-called league phase, consisting of eight matches per team, all 36 clubs are listed in a table.
• The eight matches in the league phase are played against different opponents. The teams are divided into pots beforehand. Each team has to play against two teams per pot.
• The top eight teams from the league phase advance to the round of 16.
• The remaining places in the round of 16 are awarded in knockout playoffs. A team ranked 9th to 16th will face a team ranked 17th to 24th, with a first and second leg deciding who progresses.
• The losers of the knockout playoffs and clubs ranked 25 to 36 are eliminated from the Champions League. There is no ticket for the Europa League.
• From the round of 16 onwards, the familiar tournament format is used. First and second legs between two teams up to and including the semi-finals. The Champions League winner will be crowned in a final match.

Show more

Champions YB are the only Swiss team taking part. The team from Bern beat Galatasaray Istanbul in the play-offs, winning both the first leg (3:2) and the second leg (1:0).

The video highlights:

Show more