Real Madrid open Champions League defence at Celtic

Real Madrid's French forward Karim Benzema (C) and his teammates celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on 28 May, 2022AFP

Real Madrid open the defence of their Champions League title with an opening group match at Scottish champions Celtic after the fixtures were announced on Saturday.

The 14-time victors travel to Glasgow for their Group F clash on 6 September, the same night that French champions Paris Saint Germain entertain Italian giants Juventus in Group H.

Real Madrid's bitter rivals Barcelona are in the toughest looking group along with German champions Bayern Munich and Italian side Inter Milan.

Real Madrid open the defence of their Champions League title with an opening group match at Scottish champions Celtic after the fixtures were announced on Saturday.

Real Madrid's French talisman Karim Benzema
AFP

The 14-time victors travel to Glasgow for their Group F clash on 6 September, the same night that French champions Paris Saint Germain entertain Italian giants Juventus in Group H.

Real Madrid’s bitter rivals Barcelona are in the toughest looking group along with German champions Bayern Munich and Italian side Inter Milan.

Barca, though, open their Group C campaign against Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen whilst Bayern are away at Inter Milan on 7 September.

Those games serve as the appetizer before Barcelona host Bayern on 13 September.

General view of the Champions League Group Stage Draw at the Halic Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey on 25 August, 2022
Reuters

Liverpool, beaten by Real in last season’s final, travel to Napoli for their first Group A match on 7 September.

Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City are also both away.

Chelsea -- who beat City in the 2021 final -- travel to Dinamo Zagreb in Group E and Manchester City are at Spanish side Sevilla in Group G on 6 September.

Two other British clubs enter the fray on 7 September -- Tottenham Hotspur host Marseille in Group D whilst Rangers, who are in the same section as Liverpool, play Ajax in Amsterdam.

The group stage has been compressed this season due to the World Cup kicking off in Qatar on 20 November.