By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 25 – Defending champions Barcelona were drawn to play AC Milan in this season’s Champions League group stage today in a classic showdown of two teams who have won the tournament 11 times between them.
The two powerhouses of European football should progress relatively easily given their underdog opponents in Group H, as should Manchester United – last season’s beaten finalists at Wembley.
United line up against Benfica in Group C in what is bound to an emotionally charged occasion, repeating the iconic 1968 final, which the English club won 4-1 at Wembley.
Both will also be favoured to advance to the knockout stage.
Although there was no group of death as such, Manchester City face a tough and high profile Champions League baptism against Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli.
Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund will be slight favourites to get through in Group F but perhaps the best entertainment could come from Group D where Jose Mourinho, in his quest to land the trophy with Real Madrid, will face Lyon, Ajax and Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi as expected was awarded Europe’s best player 2010-11, a new prize selected by journalists from UEFA’s 53 member nations that replaces the original European football of the year award.
Group stage draw
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli
Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Oţelul Galaţi
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
Group H: Barcelona, Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzeň
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