The lucky draw fairy named Cristiano Ronaldo, who pressed the button for the new computer draw, was kind to Austria’s runner-up Salzburg, who were in pot three. In the Champions League, the “Bulls” have home games against Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Dinamo Zagreb and Stade Brest. Coach Pepijn Lijnders’ team has to play away against David Alaba’s Real, Leverkusen, Gernot Trauner’s Feyenoord Rotterdam and Sparta Prague. “It will be an absolutely brilliant trip through Europe with these eight games for our talents, for our hungry, young team. The boys have earned it, now they have this stage,” said sporting director Bernhard Seonbuchner.
Lijnders, who watched the draw with his family, missed out on the dream draw against Liverpool. The Dutchman was nevertheless pleased with the attractive opponents. “I think we have five champions as opponents and three title contenders.” Real Madrid is the ultimate opponent. “It will be really special for the team to go to the Bernabeu. It will be massive, you’ll be playing against the reigning champions straight away. I’m looking forward to it.”
The goal is definitely promotion. “You’re playing against eight teams, so a lot can happen. It’s a long way to get to the next phase. But I really believe we can do it. But what’s even more important is that we perform in our own way, show who we are, our talent, our intensity and our way, the Salzburg way. We need our fans for that. Our stadium has to be as loud as possible,” explained Lijnders.
The exact schedule for the league phase will be drawn and published next Saturday. Since there are no longer any groups and now 36 clubs instead of 32, the format is different. The twelve teams with the fewest points are eliminated. The teams in places 9 to 24 fight in play-offs for a place in the round of 16. The top eight are guaranteed a place in the round of 16. The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals will then be decided as usual in two games, the final in one. There is no longer a switch to the Europa League. For Salzburg, participation in the premier class is the sixth in a row. The best result so far was reaching the round of 16 in the 2021/2022 season, when they were eliminated by Bayern Munich.
