Champions League holders Manchester United were
drawn with Scottish champions Celtic in the group stages of this
year's competition.
The British pair will also face Spaniards Villarreal and Danish
side Aalborg in Group E. Chelsea were drawn with Roma, Bordeaux and
Romanian minnows CFR Cluj, while Liverpool will meet PSV, Marseille
and Atletico Madrid in a tough group.
Arsenal will play Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.
The four English sides were guaranteed to be kept apart after being
made top seeds, but Celtic could have faced any one of them after
being drawn in the third pot of clubs.
They will get their chance test themselves against the English
champions in two Battle of Britain clashes. The pair met in the
Champions League group stages in 2006/07, with Celtic winning 1-0
at home but Manchester United edging the return fixture 3-2 at Old
Trafford.
Chelsea were the first side out of the hat and look to have been
given the easiest task of progressing through to the knockout
stages. Both Liverpool and Arsenal face difficult opposition if
they are to progress to the last 16 of the competition.
But they will be pleased to have avoided the likes of Bayern
Munich and Juventus, who were potential opponents in the second pot
of teams. The first set of matches will be played on 16/17
September.
