Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau will face European giants Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain after Thursday's UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.
Tau - who just two seasons ago left the South African Absa Premiership - will now be going up against Europe's elite in this season's edition after Club Brugge of Belgium were drawn in group A.
The Belgian giants secured their passage to the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 (3-1 aggregate) win over LASK as Tau grabbed an assist for the second goal.
There will be glamour ties between familiar opponents, with Zinedine Zidane's side renewing acquaintances with PSG. Real eliminated the French champions in the last 16 on the way to winning the trophy two seasons ago.
Turkish champions Galatasaray complete the group with Brugge aiming to finish third and qualify for the Europa League as a minimum target.
Draw for the 2019/20 Champions League group stage, made in Monaco on Thursday:
Group A
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Real Madrid (ESP), Club Brugge (BEL), Galatasaray (TUR)
Group B
Bayern Munich (GER), Tottenham (ENG), Olympiakos (GRE), Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
Group C
Manchester City (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Dinamo Zagreb (CRO), Atalanta (ITA)
Group D
Juventus (ITA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS)
Group E
Liverpool (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Red Bull Salzburg (AUT), Genk (BEL)
Group F
Barcelona (ESP), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Inter Milan (ITA), Slavia Prague (CZE)
Group G
Zenit Saint-Petersburg (RUS), Benfica (POR), Lyon (FRA), RB Leipzig (GER)
Group H
Chelsea (ENG), Ajax (NED), Valencia (ESP), Lille (FRA)
The confirmed first round of fixtures in this season's UEFA Champions League following Thursday's draw in Monaco (all kick-offs 21:00 SA time unless stated):
Tuesday, September 17
Group E
At Naples, Italy
Napoli (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
At Salzburg, Austria
Salzburg (AUT) v Genk (BEL)
Group F
At Milan, Italy (18:55)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Slavia Prague (CZE)
At Dortmund, Germany
Borussia Dortmund (GER) v Barcelona (ESP)
Group G
At Lyon, France (18:55)
Lyon (FRA) v Zenit Saint Petersburg (RUS)
At Lisbon
Benfica (POR) v RB Leipzig (GER)
Group H
At London
Chelsea (ENG) v Valencia (ESP)
At Amsterdam
Ajax (NED) v Lille (FRA)
Wednesday, September 18
Group A
At Bruges, Belgium (18:55)
Club Brugge (BEL) v Galatasaray (TUR)
At Paris
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Real Madrid (ESP)
Group B
At Piraeus, Greece (18:55)
Olympiakos (GRE) v Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
At Munich
Bayern Munich (GER) v Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
Group C
At Kharkiv, Ukraine
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Manchester City (ENG)
At Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Atalanta (ITA)
Group D
At Madrid
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
At Leverkusen, Germany
Bayer Leverkusen (GER) v Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS)
Subsequent dates:
Matchday 2: October 1/2
Matchday 3: October 22/23
Matchday 4: November 5/6
Matchday 5: November 26/27
Matchday 6: December 10/11
Compiled by Baden Gillion
