"Man City got the easiest group", "Arsenal going home straight up" - Twitter explodes as 2023-24 UEFA Champions League is announced

Fans reacted on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage draw was announced earlier today (August 31) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Manchester City will be looking to retain their crown, having won their maiden Champions League trophy last season. Pep Guardiola's men have been placed in the fairly non-challenging Group G, consisting of RB Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda, and Young Boys.

Meanwhile, 2022-23 Premier League runners-up Arsenal are in Group B along with Europa League champions Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven, and Lens. Manchester United have also been dealt a fairly tough hand in Group A and will face Bayern Munich, Copenhagen, and Galatarasay this season.

Group F appears to be this season's group of death with Newcastle United being paired with Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan.

The full Champions League group stage draw is as follows:

Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray

Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV, Lens

Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin

Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Real Sociedad

Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic

Group F: Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle United

Group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda, Young Boys

Group H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Antwerp

Fans had mixed reactions on X. Some of their reactions can be viewed below:

The Champions League group stage matches will commence on September 19 and 20, 2023. The final will be held at the iconic Wembley Stadium, for the first time since the 2013 final.

---

Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award ahead of 2023-24 Champions League

Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland was crowned the 2022-23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year today.

The 23-year-old had a stellar campaign, scoring 52 goals and providing nine assists in 53 appearances across all competitions. He also won the treble of the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in his debut season for the Cityzens.

Haaland also had an impressive Champions League campaign, plundering 12 goals in 11 appearances, four more than Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. He also scored five goals in one game, becoming the third player in history to achieve such a feat.

Erling Haaland finished first in the results with Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi making up the top three. The top 10 can be viewed below (via UEFA's official website):

1 Erling Haaland (Norway & Manchester City)

2 Lionel Messi (Argentina & Paris, now at Inter Miami)

3 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium & Manchester City)

4 İlkay Gündoğan (Germany & Manchester City, now at Barcelona)

5 Rodri (Spain & Manchester City)

6 Kylian Mbappé (France & Paris)

7 Luka Modrić (Croatia & Real Madrid)

8 Marcelo Brozović (Croatia & Inter, now at Al Nassr)

9 Declan Rice (England & West Ham, now at Arsenal)

10 Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina & Brighton, now at Liverpool)

11 Jesús Navas (Spain & Sevilla)