adminHolders Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League group stage while five-time winners Barcelona were drawn with last season’s runners-up Juventus on Thursday.
Zinedine Zidane’s side are chasing a third successive European title and fourth in five seasons after demolishing Italian champions Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff in June.
The record 12-time European champions will also take on Apoel of Cyprus in a testing Group H.
World record signing Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain were paired alongside Bayern Munich, with Scottish champions Celtic and Belgian outfit Anderlecht completing the line-up in Group B.
Chelsea, one of a record five English teams to qualify for the group phase, will meet Atletico Madrid in Group C as well as Roma and Qarabag, the first side from Azerbaijan to reach this stage of the competition.
Jose Mourinho will return home with Manchester United after his team drew Benfica in Group A along with CSKA Moscow and Basle.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are in Group F alongside Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli and Feyenoord while Liverpool will play Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and Maribor in Group E.
French champions Monaco, who reached last season’s semifinals, face Porto, Besiktas and debutants RB Leipzig in Group G.
GROUP A
Benfica
Manchester United
FC Basel
CSKA Moscow
GROUP B
Bayern Munich
Paris Saint Germain
Anderlecht
Celtic
GROUP C
Chelsea
Atletico Madrid
AS Roma
Qarabag
GROUP D
Juventus
Barcelona
Olympiakos Piraeus
Sporting Lisbon
GROUP E
Spartak Moscow
Sevilla
Liverpool
Maribor
GROUP F
Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City
Napoli
Feyenoord
GROUP G
Monaco
Porto
Besiktas
RB Leipzig
GROUP H
Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund
Tottenham Hotspur
Apoel Nicosia. – AFP.
Online Reporter