It is the first time the Blues are making a return to the biggest club competition after two years out in the cold. They finished 12th two seasons ago before finishing sixth in the subsequent season. Enzo Maresca led them to a top-four finish last season in his first year in West London. It was a decent season for the Blues as they followed up the top-four finish with further triumphs in the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Which Champions League pot will Chelsea be in? Despite not playing in the Champions League for two seasons, the two-time Champions League winners will be in Pot 1 due to their better coefficients
They will be joined by the likes of reigning champions PSG, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, etc Full Champions League pots. Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid C.F., Manchester City, FC Bayern München, Liverpool FC, FC Internazionale Milano, Chelsea FC, Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona Pot 2: Arsenal FC, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Atlético de Madrid, SL Benfica, Atalanta BC, Villarreal CF, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge KV Pot 3: Tottenham Hotspur, PSV Eindhoven, AFC Ajax, SSC Napoli, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Olympiacos FC, SK Slavia Praha, FK Bodø/Glimt, Olympique de Marseille Pot 4: F.C. Copenhagen, AS Monaco, Galatasaray A.Ş., R. Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabağ FK, Athletic Club, Newcastle United FC, Pafos FC, FC Kairat Almaty How new Champions League system works
In the new Champions League format that was used for the first time last season, the 36 teams will be seeded into four pots of nine teams each. However, unlike in the previous format, where a team couldn’t face a team from the same pot, the new system is a little bit different. In the new format, a team will play a total of eight league phase matches (previously known as group stage matches). More importantly, the eight games are against different teams, meaning there is no home and away format. Chelsea last won the Champions League in 2021. Photo by Pierre-Philippe Marcou. Source: Getty Images Who will Chelsea face? A team is drawn against two teams, each from a particular pot, but cannot be given an opponent from the same division. What this means is, Chelsea cannot play either Manchester City or Liverpool, but can be paired with any of the remaining five teams in Pot 1. Therefore, Chelsea will play two of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona in the league phase and two of the other teams in every other pot, which are not from England. “What he achieved for the club speaks for itself. When he arrived, we were in a difficult period of falling short, and this season we have taken a big leap in the right direction. This is where Chelsea should be year in, year out. We have an amazing group who deserve to play in the best competitions,” said Reece James to BBC Sport when asked about Enzo Maresca
By Martin Moses
