MONACO: Reigning champions Barcelona and returning giants Manchester United were dealt favourable hands in the Champions League draw in Monaco on Thursday.

The Spanish giants’ quest to become the first team to retain the European crown began smoothly as Lionel Messi and company were paired with Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and BATE Borisov in Group ‘E’.

The Catalan giants were the first team plucked out of UEFA’s ‘hat’ by fittingly Andoni Zubizarreta, one of the club’s favourite sons who was in goal.

United grace the competition after a year’s absence and coach Louis van Gaal will be more than happy with the three-time winners’ Group ‘B’ sparring partners PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and VfL Wolfsburg.

Real Madrid were placed in a tougher group with Shakhtar Donetsk and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s current and first clubs, Paris St Germain and Malmo in Group ‘A’.

Europe’s four highest-ranked leagues meet in Group ‘D’ — which appears by far the toughest with Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho will face the club where he made his name.

Chelsea were drawn in Group ‘G’ with FC Porto, the team Mourinho led to the Champions League title in 2004 in the days before he became known as the Special One, Dynamo Kiev and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Arsenal meet five-times champions Bayern Munich, who knocked them out in the round of 16 in 2012/13 and 2013/14, in Group ‘F’ along with Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos Piraeus.

The trip up to six time zones east to newcomers FC Astana in Kazakhstan went to Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray.

The eight groups begin six rounds of play on September 15.

Groups:

‘A’: Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo.

‘B’: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, VfL Wolfsburg.

‘C’: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, FC Astana.

‘D’: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Moenchengladbach.

‘E’: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, BATE Borisov.

‘F’: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb.

‘G’: Chelsea, FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

‘H’: Zenit St Petersburg, Valencia, Olympique Lyon, Gent.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

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