Monaco hosts UEFA Champions League draw

The draw for the group stage of the 2011/2012 UEFA Champions League was made in Monaco yesterday evening. Here’s a peek at what we can expect to see.

The four English clubs involved were drawn in groups of varying difficulty. Last season’s runners-up, Manchester United; arguably have the easiest pool to negotiate. They are joined in Group C by Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati of Romania.

Neighbours Manchester City have individual players with a wealth of European experience that will have to be harnessed within the squad to progress from Group A. Four-time winners Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli await Roberto Mancini’s side.

In Group E, Chelsea will play perennial qualifiers Valencia, perhaps not the force they were in the early-noughties but still dangerous nonetheless. Bayer Leverkusen, difficult to beat in Germany, and Belgian side Genk are the Blues’ other opponents.

Meanwhile, in Group F, a transitional Arsenal team are pitted against Marseille, Olympiakos and German champions Borussia Dortmund. It is a challenging group of teams who could emerge as dark-horses later in the tournament. Dortmund’s exuberant blend of youth and experience poses a definite threat.

Elsewhere, you have to feel for group-stage debutants Viktoria Plzen, from the Czech Republic, and Belarusians BATE Borisov. They’ve been given the unenviable task of facing holders Barcelona and Italian giants AC Milan in Group H.

Nine-time winners Real Madrid will be confident of advancing from Group D, that also contains Ajax, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb.

Likewise, Inter Milan should not face too many problems in Group B, apart from a few tricky away trips, when they meet French champions Lille, CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor. The latter are Turkey’s replacements for Fenerbache who are under investigation for their involvement in match-fixing.

Finally, the 2004 winners of the competition and current Europa League holders, FC Porto, will be content with their lot in Group G. Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg and APOEL Nicosia will not be easy teams to visit, however the Portuguese’s’ wealth of Champions League experience should see them through.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was also crowned the inaugural Best Player in Europe by UEFA last night, with team-mate Xavi the runner-up.

The UEFA Champions League group-stage draw in full:

Group A:

Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli

Group B:

Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor

Group C:

Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati

Group D:

Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb

Group E:

Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk

Group F:

Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund

Group G:

Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, APOEL Nicosia

Group H:

Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzen

The UEFA Champions League group-stage begins on September 13 and 14. Join us here on The Football Blog to follow all of the action!