Last year’s round of 16, who are tackling the group stage for the fourth time in a row and drawn from pot three in Thursday’s draw in Istanbul, will meet Italy’s champions AC Milan, Chelsea and Dinamo Zagreb in Pool E from September. The first match will be on September 6th or 7th, the exact schedule was not initially set.
AC Milan, drawn from pot one, have already won the championship cup and the Champions League seven times, but their most recent triumph dates back to 2007. Two-time champions Chelsea, drawn from pot two, last struck in 2021. Dinamo Zagreb is taking part in the group stage for the eighth time, with Robert Ljubicic and Emir Dilaver also having two Austrians in the Croatian record champions’ squad.
Dinamo is also an old friend of the Salzburgers. Since 2009/10, the “Bulls” have played six duels with Croatia’s record champions, the record is 3-2-1. The only defeat was of course the most bitter: in 2016/17 in the CL play-off after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, a 1-2 home draw after extra time meant the end.
Source: Nachrichten
