AC Milan has been placed in Pot 3 in the draw for the Champions League, preparing for a tough group stage in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Inter Milan and AS Roma could increase the representation of Italian teams in Pot 1 to three.
Out of the 32 available spots in the group stage of the 2023-2024 Champions League, 25 have already been secured by their respective owners as of the past weekend.
AC Milan is among the latest group to secure their place in the premier club competition in Europe for the next season. This was achieved after I Rossoneri defeated Juventus 1-0 in the 37th round of the Italian League on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Following Napoli, Lazio, and Inter Milan, who had already secured a top-four finish, Olivier Giroud and his teammates secured their place as well.
Based on the positional distribution in the drawing of the Champions League group stage, AC Milan is placed in Pot 3 alongside Lazio. This is due to their relatively low coefficient values, with AC Milan at 50.000 and Lazio at 42.000. These figures represent the cumulative performance of the clubs in European competitions over the past five seasons.
In the UEFA club coefficient rankings, Rossoneri are currently ranked 36th, while Lazio is in 42nd position. At the top of the rankings is Manchester City with a coefficient of 143.000, thanks to their consistent performances in reaching at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023.
As a result, AC Milan should prepare themselves to be drawn into a tough group again, as there will be combinations of giant clubs from Pot 1 and 2.
They faced a similar situation in the 2021-2022 season when they made their comeback to the Champions League after a seven-year absence. Being placed in Pot 4, Milan was grouped in a challenging Group B alongside Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, and Porto. Rafael Leao and his teammates eventually finished at the bottom of the group standings.
This season, AC Milan’s fortunes improved. Being placed in Pot 1 as the champions of the Serie A, they were drawn into a relatively easier group alongside Chelsea, Salzburg, and Dinamo Zagreb. Milan finished as the runners-up in Group E, behind Chelsea, and progressed to the semifinals before being eliminated by Inter Milan.
Looking at the current available combinations, Rossoneri are at risk of facing a situation similar to the 2021-2022 season, potentially being grouped with strong teams from Pot 1, such as Barcelona and Manchester United. They could also be drawn against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, along with a dark horse team from Pot 4.
As usual, Pot 1 in the Champions League draw will be filled by domestic champions from the top six leagues in Europe, as well as the champions of the previous season’s Champions League and Europa League.
The two finalists of the current season’s Champions League, Manchester City and Inter Milan, have already secured their places based on their domestic league standings. Manchester City comes as the champions of the Premier League, while Inter finished in the top four of Serie A.
The spot for the Europa League champion will be contested by AS Roma and Sevilla, both of whom have already been confirmed to have missed out on qualification through their league positions.
If Manchester City becomes the champion, then one spot in Pot 1 will be given to Feyenoord, the champions of the Dutch league, which is the seventh-ranked league in Europe.
On the other hand, if Inter wins in the final in Istanbul, I Nerazzurri will move up from Pot 2 to Pot 1.
In this scenario, Serie A has the chance to have three representatives in Pot 1 if both Inter and Roma win their respective European competitions, joining Napoli, the winners of the league.
The remaining six spots in the group stage of the 2023-2024 Champions League will be contested by the winners of the playoff round.
The drawing process will take place on August 31, 2023.
Distribution of Pots for the 2023-2024 Champions League:
Pot 1:
- Champions League 2022-2023 winner
- Europa League 2022-2023 winner
- Manchester City
- Barcelona
- Napoli
- Bayern Munich
- PSG
- Benfica
Pot 1 or 2:
- Inter Milan
Pot 1 or 3:
- Feyenoord
Pot 2:
- Real Madrid
- Manchester United
- Dortmund
- Atletico Madrid
- RB Leipzig
- Porto
- Arsenal
Pot 2 or 3:
- Shakhtar Donetsk
Pot 3:
- Salzburg
- AC Milan
- Lazio
- Red Star Belgrade
Pot 3 or 4:
- Real Sociedad
- Celtic FC
- Newcastle United
- 6 playoff winners
Pot 4:
- Union Berlin
- RC Lens
