Chelsea have learned the six teams they will face in the league phase of this season's UEFA Conference League following today's draw in Monaco. The Blues will take on Gent (home), Heidenheim (away), Astana (away), Shamrock Rovers (home), Panathinaikos (away) and Noah (home) in their first-ever Conference League campaign. It will be their first competitive meeting with all six of those opponents, although they have met other sides from Belgium (Gent), Germany (Heidenheim) and Greece (Panathinaikos) on several occasions in Europe. However, they will be taking on teams from Kazakhstan (Astana), the Republic of Ireland (Shamrock Rovers) and Armenia (Noah) for the first time in their history competitively.
Chelsea booked their place in the league phase last night, by completing a 3-2 aggregate win over Swiss side Servette in the qualifying play-off round, thanks to penalties in each leg by Christopher Nkunku and a Noni Madueke strike at Stamford Bridge. As the highest ranked team in the competition by UEFA coefficient, Chelsea were included in Pot 1 for the draw for the league phase, which has been newly introduced as part of the changes for this season's revamped competition.
They will play one team from all six pots, once each, either home or away. The top eight of the total 36 sides then progress directly to the last 16, and a further 16 sides face off in the play-offs to join them. Details on the order and dates of Chelsea's six fixtures will be confirmed tomorrow, followed by ticket information in due course. They will bring you the news here on the official Chelsea website and app.
Chelsea are footballing royalty and in this competition they stick out like an entitled king who has stumbled into a pauper's banquet. They were seeded at the top of Pot 1 and were drawn trips to FC Noah in Armenia and Astana in Kazakhstan. They will also play Heidenheim in Germany and Panathinaikos in Greece.
It is a far cry for a club that has ambition to return to ties against the elite of Europe in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Munich and Milan. But actually this is what inclusivity and merit-based performance is all about and UEFA have captured it in their ‘new era’ club competition. It doesn’t matter how deep your pockets are, what you wear in your feet that really counts. For the football purists who love the game this is a little bit life-affirming. It is the old values being brought through in a modern, updated and meaningful format.
Who isn’t going to be supporting FC Noah – who have already played eight matches in the Conference League to qualify for the League phase – when they turn up at Stamford Bridge? For the league phase draw of the Europa Conference League clubs, were split into six groups of seven, ranked by their UEFA co-efficient. A look through the draw in itself is a lesson financial diversity.
The Conference League has opened up European club football to more nations than ever before and with the qualification of The New Saints (TNS) from Wales and Larne from Northern Ireland, there are now 51 member nations who have had clubs qualified for UEFA’s competitions. The 108 clubs qualified for the new-look Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, come from 40 of UEFA’s 55 member associations. There were 27 nations represented in the 36 clubs in the Conference League draw.
They may not all have the glamour and millions of the King’s Rd’s super-elite, but they are no strangers to winning football matches. Until recently, TNS held the record of 27 consecutive top-flight victories, achieved during the 2016-17 season. Chelsea may have something to learn about winning from these teams. TNS may not win the competition but they will for the first time face some of football’s global names including Serie A’s Fiorentina and Panathinaikos from the Greek Super League. They also have an all-Celtic match up with Shamrock Rovers as well as ties with Sweden’s Durgarden, Astana and Slovenia’s Celje. Who knows, the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin may even be present for that one in his home country.
Rangers versus Manchester United and Spurs in the Europa League draw promises some spicy encounters. The Conference League can match it. Northern Ireland’s Larne vs Southern Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers promises to be no less of a classic.
Chelsea will host Irish club Shamrock Rovers in the Conference League league phase. The Blues will also welcome Gent and Armenian minnows FC Noah to Stamford Bridge, while their three away matches will see them face Bundesliga side Heidenheim, a trip to Athens to face Panathinaikos and a lengthy trek to Kazakhstan as they go up against Astana. The order of the fixtures will be confirmed on Saturday, but Chelsea will get their campaign underway on October 3.
Shamrock Rovers will also travel to face Northern Ireland’s Larne, in what will be a hugely-anticipated fixture for both sides, as well as welcoming Welsh club The New Saints to Dublin. Saints are the first club from the top-flight Cymru Premier to feature in the group stages of a European competition, and can looking forward to blockbuster trip to Italy to take on Fiorentina. Their three home fixtures are against Heidenheim, Omonoia and Petrocub.
Hearts, meanwhile, will host Heidenheim, Omonoia and Petrocub, with their away matches coming against Copenhagen, Cercle Brugge and Dinamo Minsk. A new format for European competitions means that all 36 clubs go into one league, rather than the usual four-team groups. The top eight after each club play their six matches will go straight through to the last-16, with those finishing the league phase in ninth to 24th qualifying for an extra play-off round.
