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Champions League draw: Liverpool land Real Madrid, Man City get Bayern Champions League draw: Liverpool land Real Madrid, Man City get Bayern
(about 3 hours later)
Manchester City have been drawn to face Bayern Munich for the third time in four years, and will also play CSKA Moscow and Roma in what presents the toughest draw for English clubs in the Champions League. Liverpool landed a date with the reigning European champions Real Madrid on their return to the Champions League but Manchester City were again left cursing their luck after another demanding draw for the group stage of European football’s premier competition.
However, Liverpool also face a tricky group and will play the current holders Real Madrid as well as Basel, the club who beat them into the second group stage in the 2002-03 tournament. Though Real may be a daunting prospect for Brendan Rodgers’ side, Liverpool did beat the Spanish club 5-0 on aggregate in 2009 including a 4-0 hammering at Anfield. They will also play Ludogorets, who enjoyed a charmed passage to the group stage after the most unlikely of wins over the Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest in the play-off. Their defender Cosmin Moti went in goal after the keeper Vladislav Stoyanov was sent off and saved two shoot-out penalties to send his club into the group stage for the first time. The Premier League champions might have hoped that a place in pot two would avoid a repeat of previous daunting draws at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Instead, Manuel Pellegrini’s team were paired with the German champions, Bayern Munich, for the third time in four years, CSKA Moscow for the second successive season and the toughest available team in pot four, Roma. It means a return for City’s midfielder Yaya Touré to the Russian club where he was racially abused by the crowd last year.
Elsewhere, Chelsea had an easier draw and will play the German side Schalke, who they also drew last year, Sporting Lisbon and Maribor, the side who knocked Celtic out of the tournament in the qualifying stages this year. There was also a challenging draw for Arsenal following their play-off victory over Besiktas on Wednesday, with Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Anderlecht the reward for their 17th successive season in the Champions League group stage. Chelsea, beaten semi-finalists last season, claimed arguably the easiest draw of the four English teams in the competition against Schalke, Sporting Lisbon and Maribor, the Slovenian team who knocked out Celtic in the qualifying stage.City were comprehensively beaten 3-1 at home by Bayern last season but recovered from two goals down to triumph 3-2 in the Allianz Arena against Pep Guardiola’s side. Pellegrini’s team qualified in second place on goal difference behind the German champions, though would have topped the group and avoided Barcelona in the last 16 had they scored a fourth. Pellegrini later admitted he failed to make the calculation on the night.
Arsenal, who qualified for the tournament for the 17th season in a row - thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s goal against Besiktas on Wednesday night - have been drawn in Group D against Borussia Dortmund for the second year running and Anderlecht, but have a potentially difficult journey to Galatasaray to contend with as well. Group F may well be the hardest group of all, and Barcelona will play PSG and Ajax as well as Apoel Nicosia. Yaya Touré was racially abused by CSKA Moscow supporters at the Arena Khimki last season, with the stadium partially closed by Uefa for the Russian club’s next home game against Bayern as a supposed punishment.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo – named as the European player of the 2013-14 season – told the draw ceremony in Monaco that he believes the club can become the first to successfully defend the Champions League trophy. He said: “Why not - everything is possible. I had the opportunity to do it when I was at Manchester United and now for Real Madrid - the biggest clubs in the world so I am looking forward to getting a second chance.” Touré suggested black players would boycott the 2018 World Cup in Russia should the problem persist and the return meeting will take place on 21 October.
Liverpool face a challenging trip to the Bernabeu Stadium on 4 November but, with the notable exception of Carlo Ancelotti’s holders, the prospect of a taxing group for a team in pot three did not materialise. Basel, who pipped Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool to second place in the group in 2002-03, and Bulgarian newcomers Ludogorets completed the draw for Brendan Rodgers’ side after a five-year absence from the Champions League.
Champions League group stage draw:Champions League group stage draw:
Group AGroup A
Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Olympiakos, MalmoAtlético Madrid, Juventus, Olympiakos, Malmo
Group BGroup B
Real Madrid, Basel, Liverpool, LudogoretsReal Madrid, Basel, Liverpool, Ludogorets
Group CGroup C
Benfica, Zenit St. Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen, MonacoBenfica, Zenit St. Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco
Group DGroup D
Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, AnderlechtArsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Anderlecht
Group EGroup E
Bayern Munich, Man City, CSKA Moscow, RomaBayern Munich, Man City, CSKA Moscow, Roma
Group FGroup F
Barcelona, PSG, Ajax, Apoel NicosiaBarcelona, PSG, Ajax, Apoel Nicosia
Group GGroup G
Chelsea, Schalke 04, Sporting, MariborChelsea, Schalke 04, Sporting, Maribor
Group HGroup H
FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, BATEFC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, BATE