First-time Messi-Ronaldo matchup highlights Champions League draw

Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Longtime soccer rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will have their first head-to-head battle since 2018 after Barcelona and Juventus each landed in Group G as part of the 2020-2021 Champions League draw.

The tournament draw took place Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland. The annual competition features the top teams from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

Barcelona and Juventus share a group with Ukrainian power Dynamo Kyiv and Hungary's Ferencvaros.

Juventus has a 5-4-4 record in 13 games against Barcelona. Barcelona beat Juventus in the 2015 Champions League final. The La Liga power also beat Juventus in the group stage of the 2017-2018 Champions League.

Messi and Ronaldo last shared the soccer field on May 6, 2018, when Barcelona and Real Madrid had a 2-2 draw in La Liga. Ronaldo left Madrid to join Juventus the next season. Messi's teams have a 16-10-9 record in 35 matches against Ronaldo's teams.

Messi has 22 goals while Ronaldo has 19 goals in their head-to-head matchups.

Group A features German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moskva. Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain in the 2019-2020 Champions League final on Aug. 23 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Internazionale and Monchengladbach are in Group B. Portuguese League champions Porto lead Group C with Manchester City, Olympiacos and Marseille.

English Premier League champions Liverpool top Group D, which also features Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.

Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar and Rennes share Group E. Group F features Zenit, Dortmund, Lazio and Club Brugge. French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are in Group H with Manchester United, Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir.

The group stage begins with matches on Oct. 20 and 21. The second round of group stage matches will be Oct. 27 and 28. Teams will play two more group stage matches in November and another two games in December before the round of 16 draw on Dec. 14 in Nyon, Switzerland.

The 2020-2021 Champions League final will be May 29 at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. UEFA is expected to announce the full schedule for the group stage on Friday.