Further Reading

Thursday, 30 August 2007

Clubs learn Champions League fate

Manchester United, drawn in Group F, played Roma in a quarter-final tie last season, thrashing the Italian side 7-1 in the second-leg at Old Trafford to complete an aggregate 8-3 victory. However, the tie was marred by violence during the first match in Rome.

Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kiev

Chelsea defeated Valencia to reach last season's semi-final, with Michael Essien scoring in the last minute of the second-leg in Spain to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Group B
CHELSEA
ValenciaSchalke 04
Rosenborg

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry was pleased with his team's draw, which includes a trip to Turkey to play Besiktas. "We are happy enough," said Parry. "We have happy memories of Istanbul. We have proved we are capable of beating anyone on our day and we have a better squad this season."

Group A
LIVERPOOL
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Celtic face a difficult task in the Champions League after the draw for the group stage paired them with holders AC Milan, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk. Rangers also face a tough task, against Barcelona, Lyon and Stuttgart.

Group C
REAL MADRID
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos

Group D
AC MILAN
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
BARCELONA
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

Group G
INTER MILAN
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce

Group H
ARSENAL
Sevilla/AEK Athens
Steau Bucharest
Slavia Prague

(Source: BBC News)