Real draw Dortmund, Spurs in Champions League

MONACO: Holders Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League group stage while five-time winners Barcelona were drawn with last season’s runners-up Juventus on Thursday.

Zinedine Zidane’s side are chasing a third successive European title and fourth in five seasons after demolishing Italian champions Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff in June.The record 12-time European champions also take on APOEL of Cyprus in a testing Group H that will see Gareth Bale face Spurs for the first time since leaving for Real in a then world record deal in 2013.

“We are the holders so there is always an extra motivation for the teams you face. It won’t be easy at all, we’ll need to play well and find our best form,” said Real spokesman and former striker Emilio Butragueno.

“We’ve played a lot of times against Borussia Dortmund recently and know how good they are. Tottenham have shown in the Premier League they are a very strong team.”Tottenham forward Harry Kane said he was excited to line up against the defending champions.

“You want to test yourself against the best and Real Madrid are the best at the moment,” said Kane.

Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 in the 2015 final but the Spanish club have endured a difficult month with Neymar departing for Paris Saint-Germain in a mammoth 222-million-euro ($261 million) deal.

They will also come up against Greek champions Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon in a competitive Group D.“It is a high level group with four historic teams,” said Barca general manager Pep Segura.

Juventus director general Beppe Marotta said Barca were weaker following the record-breaking sale of Neymar.“Missing a player like Neymar weighs heavily. We’ll have to see how they intend to replace him. But Barcelona remain a top quality side with great individual players,” Marotta told Italia 1.

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti will return to Paris in a Group B that also features Celtic and Anderlecht.Chelsea, one of a record five English teams to qualify for the group phase, will meet Atletico Madrid in Group C as well as Roma and Qarabag, the first side from Azerbaijan to reach this stage of the competition.

Jose Mourinho will visit his native Portugal with Manchester United after they were placed in Group A with Benfica, CSKA Moscow and Basel.Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are in Group F alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli and Feyenoord while Liverpool will play Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and Maribor in Group E.

French champions Monaco, who reached last season’s semi-finals, face Porto, Besiktas and debutants RB Leipzig in Group G.The opening round of matches will be played September 12-13.