Champions League draw made
The group stage draw was made in Monaco this evening
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Thursday, 30, Aug 2007 06:17
Rangers and Celtic face tough draws in the group stage of the 2007/08 Champions League, although all the other British sides seem to have fairly straightforward paths into the knockout stages.
Scottish runners-up Rangers have been drawn in group E and face a tough task to qualify from a pool that also includes 2006 European champions Barcelona, French champions Lyon and Bundesliga winners VfB Stuttgart.
Celtic meet holders AC Milan, their opponents from last season's first knockout round, Portugal's Benfica, who were in their group last season, and Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
The English clubs should all progress with few problems, however.
In group A, 2007 Champions League runners-up Liverpool face Portuguese champions FC Porto, French side Marseilles – who have former Reds striker Djibril Cisse among their number – and Besiktas of Turkey.
The draw should favour Rafael Benitez's side, who will be looking to make the final of the competition for the third time in four years.
Chelsea have been drawn in group B alongside their opponents from the first knockout round last season, Valencia. The Blues won that two-legged tie 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a late goal from Frank Lampard in Spain, which earned a 1-1 draw.
Last season's Bundesliga runners-up Schalke 04 join Chelsea's group, alongside Rosenborg of Norway.
Manchester United also face a rematch from last season as they have been drawn in group F alongside Serie A side Roma, who suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat at Old Trafford in last year's competition.
Sporting Lisbon, who will welcome back former star Nani, and Dinamo Kiev make up what could be an interesting section for Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning Premier League champions.
Arsene Wenger's Arsenal have arguably the easiest draw of all the British clubs after being drawn alongside Romania's Steaua Bucharest, Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic and one club out of Uefa Cup holders Sevilla and Greek side AEK Athens.
Those two clubs will complete their two-legged tie on Monday after the original second leg was postponed following the shocking death of Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta. Sevilla lead 2-0 from the first leg.
Full list of Champions League groups:
Group A
Liverpool
FC Porto
Marseilles
Besiktas
Group B
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke 04
Rosenborg
Group C
Real Madrid
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos
Group D
AC Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk
Group E
Barcelona
Lyon
VfB Stuttgart
RangersGroup F
Manchester United
AS Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dinamo Kiev
Group G
Inter Milan
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce
Group H
Arsenal
Sevilla/AEK Athens
Steaua Bucharest
Slavia Prague