MONACO: Missing out on the Champions League title in his first season at Juventus still pains Cristiano Ronaldo.

Had it not been for the quarter-final loss to Ajax Amsterdam last season, Ronaldo might not have been leaving Thursday’s UEFA group stage draw and awards ceremony empty-handed. So the three-time UEFA player of the year has a renewed hunger heading into the group stage, where Juve were paired with Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group ‘D’.

It is a swift reunion with Atletico after their round-of-16 meeting last season, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-leg hat trick overturned a 2-0 deficit to send the Italian champions through before they fell to Ajax.

“It’s the hardest competition there is to win,” said Ronaldo, who lifted the European Cup once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid. “I’m really up for it. I don’t know what’s going to happen this year but when the year starts I’m always confident. This year I’m not changing my mind.”

But as Ronaldo observed: “The favourites don’t always win. Look at Barcelona letting in four at Anfield. Everyone thought we would beat Ajax and we didn’t. The same happened to Real.”

Ajax’s astonishing run to the semi-finals saw the Dutch side oust Real in the last 16. Barca looked to be coasting into the final before throwing away a 3-0 lead over Liverpool by losing 4-0 at Anfield.

LIVERPOOL FACE NAPOLI AGAIN

Liverpool’s surge to a sixth European title helped Virgil van Dijk beat Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to UEFA’s player of the year award at the ceremony in Monaco after the group stage draw.

Juergen Klopp’s side, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in June’s final, received a relatively kind draw and start their title defence in a group that again includes Napoli, who they had to beat last December to advance to the knockout stage. Austria’s Salzburg and Belgian side Genk also await in Group ‘E’.

“I don’t know how often I’ve now played against Napoli, but they’re obviously a very experienced side and their coach Carlo Ancelotti has won the competition,” said Klopp, who faced the Italians with Dortmund in the 2013-14 group stage.

“I will need now to have another, closer look at Genk and Salzburg, but I already know they are very young, very exciting and very fresh, so it will be interesting,” he said.

Two of Liverpool’s squad, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, have played for Salzburg, who are managed by American Jesse Marsch.

“Liverpool, that’s a huge game, a superb team and an unbelievable challenge,” Marsch said. “Napoli are a very tactically organised team, typically Italian. Belgian champions Genk are obviously going to be tough as well.”

Liverpool are hoping to return to this year’s final which will be played in Istanbul, where they won their fifth title back in 2005.

REAL FACE PSG

For Paris St Germain and Manchester City, among the biggest spending teams of the last decades thanks to investment by state-linked ownership from the Persian Gulf, the quest for a first Champions League title will have contrasting assignments.

Tough for PSG after being paired in a group with a Real Madrid side chasing a record-extending 14th European crown. Relatively straightforward for City, which was placed in a group that doesn’t have any former champions and includes newcomers Atalanta.

In Group ‘A’, PSG will also face Club Brugge and Turkish champions Galatasaray.

It remains to be seen if PSG’s Brazil forward Neymar, linked with Real and Barca, will be at the club when the Parisians take on Real. Real eliminated the French champions in the last 16 on the way to winning the trophy two seasons ago.

In Group ‘C’, City will also take on Shaktar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb while facing doubts about their Champions League participation next season as the Abu Dhabi-owned team is investigated for Financial Fair Play breaches.

“I’m a little upset about Manchester City,” said Shakhtar striker Junior Moraes. “Now it’s three years in a row [in the Champions League]. We have a balanced group and good chances to qualify from it. City, of course, are a cut above the rest of the teams.”

BARCA HANDED TOUGH DRAW

One of the most eye-catching groups is ‘F’. Barca, who won the competition for the last time in 2015, were paired with former champions Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, alongside Czech champions Slavia Prague.

“That really is a very tough group, which makes it an even bigger challenge for us,” Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said. “Inter want to return to the top of Italian football and have invested a lot this summer to try and achieve that.”

Dortmund won the trophy in 1997 and lost in the final in 2013. Now coached by Antonio Conte, Inter beat Barcelona in the semi-finals en route to winning the most recent of their three titles in 2010.

Dortmund captain Marco Reus, was delighted with the prospect of facing Barca.

“A few of us from the team were stood together at breakfast this morning and we all agreed that we’d love to draw Barcelona,” he said.

“I am buzzing that it’s actually happened. Obviously, the group is extremely difficult. The games against Barcelona will have a party atmosphere for us and our fans. We believe in our quality and our aim is to go through,” he said.

SPURS GET BAYERN

Bayern Munich, who have won the European Cup five times like Barca, are in Group ‘B’ with Tottenham, Greek champions Olympiakos and Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winners.

“We can definitely live with that group,” Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said. “Our expectation is to qualify for the knockout stages as group winners, but we would be well-advised not to underestimate any team.

“Especially in Piraeus and in Belgrade we will not only come up against highly-motivated opposition, but also a very passionate home crowd.”

After winning the Europa League, Chelsea are back in the Champions League and can look forward to taking on Ajax, who had to go through qualifying to reach the group stage, as well as former runners-up Valencia and French club Lille in Group ‘H’.

Perhaps the most balanced section sees Zenit Saint Petersburg, Benfica, Olymp­ique Lyonnais and RB Leipzig clash in Group ‘G’.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2019