The UEFA Champions League group stage draw was made on Thursday 30 August in the Principality of Monaco. In a most glamorous event, the greatest players of last season’s competition were named, with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric given the awards for Player of the Year and midfielder of the season, leaving behind him stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi and Mohammed Salah.
In other categories, Real Madrid also dominated, with Keylor Navas being named goalkeeper of the season, Sergio Ramos defender of the season and Ronaldo as best forward of the season.
Regarding the draw itself, some interesting match-ups were made, particularly in Group H. Italian champions Juventus will meet with Manchester United, Ronaldo making his return to the Old Trafford.
The group is completed by Valencia and Swiss club Young Boys. In Group C, French giants Paris Saint-Germain go head-to-head with Liverpool, with Napoli also in the group.
Atletico Madrid will also face a challenge in Group A, as they will go up against Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco.
As for Greek champions AEK, they were dealt with a tough group, facing German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Portuguese club Benfica (who recently knocked out PAOK) and Dutch champions Ajax. Cup holders Real Madrid face AS Roma, CSKA Moscow and Victoria Plzen.
The groups:
GROUP A
- Atletico Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund
- AS Monaco
- Club Brugge
GROUP B
- Barcelona
- Tottenham Hotspur
- PSV Eindhoven
- Inter Milan
GROUP C
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Napoli
- Liverpool
- Crvena Zvezda
GROUP D
- Lokomotiv Moscow
- Porto
- Schalke
- Galatasaray
GROUP E
- Bayern Munich
- Benfica
- Ajax
- AEK
GROUP F
- Manchester City
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Olympique Lyonnais
- Hoffenheim
GROUP G
- Real Madrid
- AS Roma
- CSKA Moscow
- Viktoria Plzen
GROUP H
- Juventus
- Manchester United
- Valencia
- Young Boys