Manchester United Champions League with a 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
Erik ten Hag’s team, under his leadership, has secured a minimum fourth-place finish in the Premier League, guaranteeing their participation in the esteemed European club competition alongside Arsenal, Manchester City, and Newcastle United for the 2023/24 season.
The match saw Casemiro scoring the opening goal with a header, followed by Anthony Martial doubling the lead just before halftime. Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty, and Marcus Rashford scored his 30th goal of the season, while Joao Felix managed to score a consolation goal. With this victory, Manchester United has moved up to the third position in the league table, two points ahead of Newcastle, with one more game remaining.
Looking ahead, we explore what we currently know about next season’s competition.
WHEN IS THE GROUP-STAGE DRAW?
The group-stage draw for the upcoming Champions League season will take place on Thursday, August 31, following the completion of the final round of play-off ties on August 29 and 30. During the draw, eight teams will be seeded into four separate pots, with each group consisting of one team from each pot. Pot one will include domestic league champions from different European leagues, as well as the winners of the current Champions League and Europa League. Based on our UEFA co-efficient ranking, Manchester United will be seeded in pot two for the group-stage draw.
WHEN DOES THE GROUP STAGE BEGIN?
The group-stage matches for the upcoming Champions League season will commence on September 19 and 20 of this year. Despite Manchester United’s absence from the competition this season, Europa League group matches were scheduled alongside the corresponding Champions League fixtures. Following a condensed group-stage campaign in the current season, which was adjusted to accommodate the winter World Cup, the format for the group stage will revert back to its previous structure for the next season. The final round of group matches will be played on December 12 and 13, which is over a month later than the same stage was played in the current campaign due to the demanding fixture congestion.
THE FINAL 32-TEAM TOURNAMENT
The upcoming Champions League season will mark the final edition of the competition featuring 32 teams. Consequently, the 2023/24 campaign presents the last opportunity to participate in a six-match group stage where each opponent is faced twice, once at home and once away. Starting from the 2024/25 season, the tournament will expand to include 36 teams, leading to a modification in the group-stage format. Teams will then compete in eight matches during the group phase against eight different opponents.
ERIK’S TRACK RECORD
Both Manchester United and Erik ten Hag are preparing for their return to this competition since the 2021/22 season. In that campaign, the Red Devils, under the guidance of Ten Hag at Ajax, were eliminated in the round of 16 by Atletico Madrid, while the Dutch club fell to Benfica. The manager oversaw four consecutive seasons of Champions League football with the renowned Eredivisie side, and it was the first of those campaigns that proved to be the most successful. In the 2018/19 season, Erik led Ajax to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a notable performance from Donny van de Beek, defeating Real Madrid and Juventus in thrilling knockout rounds. They came agonizingly close to reaching the final that season, only to be denied by a last-minute goal from Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the semi-final, resulting in Spurs advancing on the now-defunct away-goals rule.
ROAD TO WEMBLEY
The grand finale of the Champions League is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London. This will be Wembley’s first time hosting the Champions League final since 2013 when Bayern Munich triumphed over Borussia Dortmund. Manchester United had previously contested a final at the same venue, suffering a 3-1 defeat against Barcelona in May 2011 under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. Under Erik ten Hag’s management, United has already played twice at Wembley, winning the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle in February and advancing from the FA Cup semi-finals against Brighton & Hove Albion last month. Additionally, another Wembley encounter is scheduled almost a year prior to the Champions League final of the next season, as United is set to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3.
