Arsenal drawn in Group Of Death While Barca And AC Milan Meet Again
The draw, made in Monaco last Thursday evening, threw up several mouthwatering ties as well as bringing together plenty familiar foes.
Arsenal came off the worst of all, the English contenders in a Group F that contains last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, Marseille and Napoli.
The Gunners faced Dortmund and Marseille in the group stage two seasons ago, but will be especially wary of Napoli, whose coach Rafael Benitez is a specialist at this level and who, in Gonzalo Higuain, boast a striker that might have joined Arsenal earlier this summer.
Barcelona and AC Milan, 11-time winners between them, top the bill in Group H. The pair will meet in Europe’s premier club competition for the third season running, with Barca having recovered a two-goal first-leg deficit to win 4-2 on aggregate in last term’s round of 16. The pair were also pitted together in the 2011/12 quarter-finals, when the Liga side again prevailed, as well as the group stage that same season.
Ajax, who have lifted the trophy four times, and Celtic – triumphant in 1967 – make up the rest of the pool. Neil Lennon’s Scottish title holders will be hoping for a repeat of last season, when they upset the odds to beat Barcelona 2-1 at home in the group stage.
Group B, meanwhile, also reunites two teams who came face to face in 2012/13. Real Madrid suffered a major scare against Galatasaray but ultimately beat the Turkish outfit to reach the last four. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has a reunion of his own to look forward to, with former club Juventus also set to come up against his current side.
Chelsea, winners in 2012, may draw inspiration from the sight of two of their Group E bedfellows, having defeated both Steaua Bucuresti and FC Basel en route to UEFA Europa League glory in May.
Champions Bayern Munich, will be up against CSKA Moscow, Manchester City and Viktoria Plzen.
The opening UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures will take place on 17 and 18 September, with the Lisbon final scheduled for Saturday 24 May.
Group A
Manchester United (ENG)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Group B
Real Madrid (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Galatasaray (TUR)
FC Copenhagen (DEN)
Group C
Benfica (POR)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Olympiacos (GRE)
Anderlecht (BEL)
Group D
Bayern Munich (GER, holders)
CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Manchester City (ENG)
Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Group E
Chelsea (ENG)
Schalke (GER)
Basel (SUI)
Steaua Bucuresti (ROU)
Group F
Arsenal (ENG)
Marseille (FRA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Napoli (ITA)
Group G
FC Porto (POR)
Club Atletico Madrid (ESP)
FC Zenit (RUS)
FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Group H
Barcelona (ESP)
AC Milan (ITA)
Ajax (NED)
Celtic (SCO)