Champions League group stage draw: Pot 3

UEFA.com profiles the eight teams who were in Pot 3 for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

Previous winners of this competition AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Crvena zvezda took their place in this grouping alongside the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk and Lazio.

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

UEFA coefficient ranking (end of 2022/23 season): 25
How they qualified: Ukrainian champions
Last season: Group stage, Europa League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2010/11)

2022/23: Drew with Real Madrid and beat Leipzig in the group stage but missed out on qualification to that pair before their Europa League campaign was ended by a flying Feyenoord side. Closest championship rivals Dnipro-1 were the only side to beat them in the Ukrainian league before they wrapped up the title in May.

Salzburg (AUT)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 27
How they qualified: Austrian champions
Last season: Group stage, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (2021/22)

2022/23: The greater experience of Chelsea and Milan in the group stage, then Roma in the Europa League knockout stages, accounted for their European campaign, but they only lost one game in winning a tenth consecutive league title. They were denied a fifth straight domestic double when Sturm toppled them on penalties in the Austrian Cup quarter-finals.

Milan (ITA)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 37
How they qualified: Fourth in Italy
Last season: Semi-finals (L0-3agg vs Inter)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1962/63, 1968/69, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1993/94, 2002/03, 2006/07)

2022/23: Always playing catch-up in the title race following a blistering start to the season from Napoli, the Rossoneri's European campaign saw them move through the gears with much more success. Back-to-back defeats by Chelsea proved to be the reset required and Stefano Pioli's men conceded just once in their next six games as they made it to the last four.

Braga (POR)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 40
How they qualified: Third in Portugal, play-off winners (W3-1agg vs Panathinaikos)
Last season: Europa League group stage, Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Group stage (2010/11, 2012/13)

2022/23: Couldn't quite keep pace with Benfica and Porto in the title race but they have not finished higher than third since their second-placed effort of 2009/10. Reached the Portuguese Cup final too, losing to Porto, but failed to make it out of their Europa League group – albeit with ten points – and were roundly beaten by Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League.

PSV (NED)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 41
How they qualified: Second in Netherlands, play-off winners (W7-3agg vs Rangers)
Last season: Play-offs, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1987/88)

2022/23: Runners-up in the league for the third season in a row, PSV did claim silverware when they squeezed past rivals Ajax on penalties in the Dutch Cup final. Their Champions League campaign was ended by Rangers in the play-offs – making this season's victory over the Scottish side all the sweeter – while they fell under Sevilla's Europa League spell after easing through their group.

Lazio (ITA)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 42
How they qualified: Second in Italy
Last season: Europa Conference League round of 16
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1999/2000)

2022/23: Another side that struggled to keep pace with Napoli in Serie A, Lazio's second place was their highest league finish since they won the title back in 2000. Cup competitions were not quite so profitable as they exited the Coppa Italia in the last eight and Europa Conference League, to AZ Alkmaar, in the round of 16.

Crvena zvezda (SRB)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 43
How they qualified: Serbian champions
Last season: Play-offs (L4-5agg vs Maccabi Haifa), Europa League group stage
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1990/91)

2022/23: Caught cold in qualifying by Maccabi Haifa, Crvena zvezda failed to get going in the Europa League too as they missed out to Ferencváros and Monaco in their group. By contrast, their domestic performance was near flawless as they completed a third consecutive double – they have lost just one league game across those last three seasons.

Copenhagen (DEN)

UEFA coefficient ranking: 44
How they qualified: Danish champions, play-off winners (W2-1agg vs Raków)
Last season: Group stage (fourth place)
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (1993/94, 2010/11)

2022/23: The domestic double ensured Copenhagen equalled the record for Danish league titles and domestic cup successes. Both trophies were hard-fought, though, with Jacob Neestrup's men only climbing to the summit with three games remaining and edging AaB in the cup final. They drew their three Champions League group stage home games against Sevilla, Manchester City and Dortmund but lost all three away.