Tough draws for Real, Chelsea
Source: Agencies |
September 1, 2012, Saturday
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CHAMPIONS League winner Chelsea will begin its title defense at home to Italian giant Juventus, while Real Madrid will face Manchester City in the tournament's toughest group.
Thursday's draw for the group stage pitched the defending champion against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final. Group E also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Champions League debutant Nordsjaelland of Denmark.
Real has been handed the toughest draw - with three league champions in Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax in Group D. The Spanish champion beat Ajax 3-0 both home and away in last season's competition. It begins its bid for a record 10th title at home to Premier League champion City.
"We didn't have much luck but I'm sure our rivals will think the same," Real Madrid director and former playing great Emilio Butragueno said. "It's a very tough group, all of the games are going to be very close, very competitive, very tense. We have to prepare. We're Real Madrid and we aspire to reach the end of this competition."
With all four teams winning their respective leagues last year, it is no surprise Group D has been pinpointed as the toughest group.
Juventus should qualify for the knockout stage, along with Chelsea, which knocked the Serie A side out of the competition in 2009.
Bayern Munich, last season's runner-up, is in Group F with Valencia, which it beat on penalties in the 2011 final, as well as Lille and BATE Borisov.
Four-time winner Barcelona faces Benfica, Spartak Moscow and Celtic.
Manchester United, which failed to clear the group stage last season, also has a relatively weak group with Braga, Galatasaray and Cluj. Seven-time winner AC Milan was drawn with Zenit St. Petersburg, Anderlecht and Malaga - another Champions League debutant.
French champion Montpellier makes its debut in the competition against Arsenal, Schalke and Olympiakos. Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored 21 goals for Montpellier last season, finishing as the joint top scorer in the French league.
Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain returns to the Champions League after an eight-year absence and will play Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb.
In the Europa League, Tottenham and Lazio have been drawn into one of the toughest groups. The two teams will meet Panathinaikos and Maribor in Group J of the tournament.
Liverpool was also handed a tough draw. The three-time champion faces Udinese, Young Boys and Anzhi Makhachkala, which is coached by Guus Hiddink and captained by former Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o.
Inter is also bidding for a fourth title and it has been handed some tricky trips after being grouped with Rubin Kazan, Partizan Belgrade and Azerbaijani team Neftchi Baku. Defending champion Atletico Madrid is in a group with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Viktoria Plzen and Academica, while last year's runner-up Athletic Bilbao faces Lyon, Sparta Prague and Ironi Kiryat Shmona.
Thursday's draw for the group stage pitched the defending champion against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final. Group E also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Champions League debutant Nordsjaelland of Denmark.
Real has been handed the toughest draw - with three league champions in Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax in Group D. The Spanish champion beat Ajax 3-0 both home and away in last season's competition. It begins its bid for a record 10th title at home to Premier League champion City.
"We didn't have much luck but I'm sure our rivals will think the same," Real Madrid director and former playing great Emilio Butragueno said. "It's a very tough group, all of the games are going to be very close, very competitive, very tense. We have to prepare. We're Real Madrid and we aspire to reach the end of this competition."
With all four teams winning their respective leagues last year, it is no surprise Group D has been pinpointed as the toughest group.
Juventus should qualify for the knockout stage, along with Chelsea, which knocked the Serie A side out of the competition in 2009.
Bayern Munich, last season's runner-up, is in Group F with Valencia, which it beat on penalties in the 2011 final, as well as Lille and BATE Borisov.
Four-time winner Barcelona faces Benfica, Spartak Moscow and Celtic.
Manchester United, which failed to clear the group stage last season, also has a relatively weak group with Braga, Galatasaray and Cluj. Seven-time winner AC Milan was drawn with Zenit St. Petersburg, Anderlecht and Malaga - another Champions League debutant.
French champion Montpellier makes its debut in the competition against Arsenal, Schalke and Olympiakos. Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored 21 goals for Montpellier last season, finishing as the joint top scorer in the French league.
Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain returns to the Champions League after an eight-year absence and will play Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb.
In the Europa League, Tottenham and Lazio have been drawn into one of the toughest groups. The two teams will meet Panathinaikos and Maribor in Group J of the tournament.
Liverpool was also handed a tough draw. The three-time champion faces Udinese, Young Boys and Anzhi Makhachkala, which is coached by Guus Hiddink and captained by former Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o.
Inter is also bidding for a fourth title and it has been handed some tricky trips after being grouped with Rubin Kazan, Partizan Belgrade and Azerbaijani team Neftchi Baku. Defending champion Atletico Madrid is in a group with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Viktoria Plzen and Academica, while last year's runner-up Athletic Bilbao faces Lyon, Sparta Prague and Ironi Kiryat Shmona.
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