Ronaldo returns to Old Trafford
UEFA LEAGUE DRAW: JUVE, MAN UNITED IN SAME GROUP
Barca and Spurs in testing Group B along with Inter and PSV.
Cristiano Ronaldo can look forward to a return to Old Trafford in the Champions League this season after his new team Juventus came out in the same group as Manchester United in last night’s draw in Monaco.
Ronaldo spent six years at United, winning the Champions League in 2008, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009. He will come up against his compatriot Jose Mourinho, under whom he played at Real, while United’s Paul Pogba will face his old team.
While those sides will be favourites to progress to the last 16 from Group H, they will have to be wary of Valencia, with the Spaniards returning to the group stage for the first time in three years.
Swiss champions Young Boys, group-stage debutants, look to be the makeweights in the section.
Last night’s draw ceremony at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum, threw up several other fascinating groups, with last season’s finalists Liverpool set to have their work cut out alongside the Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Napoli, in Group C.
That group is completed by a famous old name in 1991 European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade.
Holders Madrid begin their bid to win a fourth consecutive Champions League crown in a kind-looking Group G, featuring Roma, CSKA Moscow and the Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
In contrast, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur will play each other in a testing Group B along with Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
The draw looks kind to Manchester City, who will face debutants Hoffenheim as well as Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The draw was also kind on German champions Bayern Munich, although they will meet two great European names in Benfica and Ajax. But it was less so for another German club, with Borussia Dortmund coming up against Monaco and Atletico Madrid in Group A, along with Club Brugge.
The draw ensures there will be some variety on into the knockout rounds, not least with Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto and Galatasaray joining Bundesliga side Schalke in Group D.
The first roundUEf group games will be played on September 18 and 19.