Real Madrid in the Champions League: group, rivals and when does it debut

Real Madrid already knows the first twists and turns of the path that leads to the conquest of the fourteenth European Cup. The Champions League group stage draw has placed Zidane's team in Group B, paired with Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Real Madrid rivals in the Champions group stage

Shakhtar Donetsk

The Ukrainian team has become a regular in the Champions League in recent years. In the last decade it has only been absent in the 16-17 edition. The previous season Madrid met Shakhtar in the group stage, in a duel resolved with a double white victory: 4-0 at the Bernabéu and 3-4 in Lviv. He has four consecutive league titles despite playing his matches in Kharkov, more than 300 kilometers from Donetsk, because of the political situation in eastern Ukraine.

Inter de Milan

Achraf returns to the Bernabéu. Antonio Conte's team was the 'bogeyman' of Pot 3. After a seven-year crossing of the desert without stepping on the maximum continental competition, the last two seasons the squad nerazurra has been eliminated in the group stage. But the Lombard project is growing. Last season he was runner-up in Serie A and the Europa League and, in addition to the Madrid youth squad, he has stars like Lukaku or Lautaro in his ranks. He has faced Madrid 15 times in Europe, although the last time is far off, in the 1998-99 season. In fact, Madrid played their home game at the Sánchez Pizjuán when the Bernabéu was closed due to the incident of the goal against Dortmund in the semifinals of the Seventh.

Borussia Moenchengladbach

The Rhenish team, fourth in the last Bundesliga, is an old acquaintance of Madrid in the 70s and 80s. They faced each other in the quarterfinals of the 1976 European Cup (pass for the Whites by 2-2 in Germany and 1-1 at the Bernabéu) and then was one of the victims of stage fright on those nights of great comebacks at the Bernabéu. In the 1985-1986 UEFA Cup, Madrid lifted the round of 16 tie with 4-0 at the Bernabéu after the 5-1 in Germany. It is his third participation in the tournament in the Champions format (in his five appearances in the old European Cup, he became a finalist in 1977).

Real Madrid calendar in the Champions group stage

The match schedule for the six days will not be known until tomorrow, Friday afternoon. Due to the late start of the tournament, The group league will be played in two blocks of three consecutive weeks, with the November national team break in between. These are the dates, as usual on Tuesday and Wednesday.

• Matchday 1: October 20 and 21
• Matchday 2: October 27 and 28
• Matchday 3: November 3 and 4
• Matchday 4: November 24 and 25
• Matchday 5: December 1 and 2
• Matchday 6: December 8 and 9

This season, the possibility of making five changes in the course of the game is kept in an extraordinary way. Each team will have three windows (in addition to the rest, which will not exhaust sales) to carry them out.

How and where to watch Real Madrid games in the Champions League

All Real Madrid matches in the Champions League will be seen on the different channels of the Movistar Champions League. The channel, which broadcasts the matches of the highest continental competition, the Europa League and matches of international leagues such as the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1, is available on the Movistar + and Orange TV offerings.

The calendar and format of the UEFA Youth League, detached from the Champions

It should be remembered that, due to the conditions in the displacements derived from the coronavirus pandemic, this season the Youth League will not coincide with the Champions League in the group stage. UEFA has decided that the under-19 competition will start in March 2021 with a knockout format from the 30th finals. Madrid will defend the title won by Raúl's youth last August in Nyon.