Inter Draw Real Madrid, Shakhtar, and Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League

Inter will have to get past two very familiar faces in order to make the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in a decade. Today’s group stage draw has set the Nerazzurri up with Real Madrid, Shaktar Donetsk, and Sheriff Tiraspol. You may be feeling a strong sense of deja vu and for good reason. Inter faced both Real and Shakhtar in last season’s edition of the UCL, losing twice to the Spanish side and picking up a pair of draws against the Ukrainian outfit. Sheriff, on the other hand, is a name you might not recognize. It’s based in the town of Tiraspol, Moldova, and is in the Champions League after winning the Moldavan National Division last season. Sheriff ran its competition ragged, picking up 99 points from 36 games (32 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss). It conceded only seven goals all season and scored 116. Sheriff started its European journey in the first play-off round of qualification and progressed through four rounds en route to the group stage. Despite its tiny status, the club from Tiraspol managed to best both Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb so they won’t necessarily be a walk in the park.

As for Madrid and Shakhtar, both have evolved from the teams Inter met last year but kept the same spine of players. Carlo Ancelotti has replaced Zinedine Zidane at the helm of Los Blancos while ex-Sassuolo manager Roberto De Zerbi is the new Shakhtar boss.

Matches will begin on September 14th.

Forza Inter!