UEFA Best Player Award, Champions League draws and kick-off date for 2018/2019 season

Real Madrid v Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Final

The 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League and Europa League draws will take stage at the Grimaldi Form in the French city of Monaco on Thursday, 30 August.

·        2018/2019 Champions League Draws

Thirteen times Champions League winner and defending champions, Real Madrid, begin their campaign to a fourth consecutive Europe triumph in pot one alongside their fellow Spanish rival, Atletico Madrid, who won the 2017/2018 Europa League crown. Six domestic league winners from Europe’s elite football league will also be placed in Pot one.

Seeding Pot two, three and four will be filled according to the club’s co-efficient European ranking in the last ten years.

Seeding pots are categorized as follow:

POT 1: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munchen and Lokomotiv Moskva

POT 2: Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma and Liverpool (Depending on who qualifies from the play-offs).

POT 3: Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, CSKA Moskva and four other teams (To be determined after playoff)

POT 4: Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Internazionale Milano, Hoffenheim and other teams (To be determined after playoff)

NB: Two teams from the same domestic league are not eligible to face each other at the group stage of UEFA Champions League competition.

Awards

The sensational trio of Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric have all been nominated for the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

Manchester City v Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg

Mo Salah was instrumental to Liverpool’s European domination in the 2017/2018 Champions League season, contributing to 16 goals (11 goals, 5 assists) in the tournament. He was disappointedly substituted in the final game against Real Madrid as a result of Sergio Ramos’ challenge on him.

The duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric conquered Europe for the third successive time after their 3-1 victory against Liverpool at the Champions League final in Kyiv.

Real Madrid v Liverpool – UEFA Champions League Final

Ronaldo netted a whopping 15 goals to ensure the Galacticos clinched a thirteenth Europe elite title. The Portuguese captain won the 2016 and 2017 UEFA Player of the Year award.

Positional Award Nominees:

Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Roma, now Liverpool), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, now PSG), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)

Defenders: Marcelo (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, now Juventus), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

2017 UEFA Award Winners

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo

Best Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon

Best Defender: Sergio Ramos

Best Midfielder: Luka Modrić

Best Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo

2018/2019 Season UEFA Champions League Notable Date

·        Kick-off Date: 8 September 2018

·        Round of 16 Draw: 17 December 2018

·        Round of 16 Kick-off: 12 February 2019

·        Quarter-final/Semi-final Draws: 15 March 2019

·        Quarter-final: 9 April 2019

·        Semi-final: 30 April 2019

·        Final: 1 June 2019

Wanda Metropolitano Stadium

The 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League final will be played on 1 June 2019 at the Estadio Metropolitano (Atletico Madrid) in Spain.

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