MONACO: Pep Guardiola will return to former club Barcelona with Manchester City in the Champions League after the two sides were drawn together in Thursday’s group stage draw here.
Guardiola, a European Cup winner with Barca as a player in 1992 before twice guiding the Catalan giants to the Champions League title in 2009 and 2011, will also come up against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Celtic in Group C.
City lost to Barcelona in the last 16 of the competition in 2013-14 and 2014-15, while the Premier League side defeated Gladbach twice in last year’s group stage.
City captain Vincent Kompany tweeted: “Usual type of draw for us. Better like this. Bring it on.”
Defending champions Real Madrid, who won a record 11th European Cup last season, were paired with Borussia Dortmund in Group F alongside Portugal’s Sporting and Legia Warsaw of Poland.
Dortmund edged Real 4-3 on aggregate in a thrilling semi-final three years ago, but the Spaniards avenged that defeat, winning 3-2 over the two legs, the following season on their way to the 2014 title.
Five-time winners Bayern Munich will play last year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid in Group D, which also features PSV Eindhoven and Russian first timers Rostov.
Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal are the two clear favourites to progress from Group A ahead of Basel and Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets, with Arsene Wenger’s side preparing for a 19th successive appearance in the competition.
Premier League champions Leicester City were handed a favourable draw in Group G which includes Porto, Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen, but Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri was quick to downplay expectations. “Once again I say we are underdogs,” said Ranieri. “For this reason we must fight for everything. I want to see my players fight against the best in Europe.”
Juventus will take on three-time reigning Europa League champions Sevilla as well as Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb in Group H.
Tottenham Hotspur, who return to Europe’s elite for the first time since reaching the 2010-11 quarter-finals, will come up against Russian champions CSKA Moscow, Bayern Leverkusen and Monaco in Group E.
Twice former champions Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev and Besiktas are in Group B.
The first matches will be played on September 13 and 14, while the final is to be held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on June 3.
