2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage draw

Group A appears to be the group of death. It puts Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City and Napoli in a single section. It will be tough for debutants Man City and Napoli to beat the likes of the experienced Germans and Spain’s Yellow Submarines.

The situation is a bit different in Group B where Internazionale will be keen to impose their authority above the rest. Could French champions LOSC Lille reach the knock-out phase too?

In Group C, Manchester United have been united with Benfica just like during the 2006/07 season whereas Real Madrid will have yet another trip to the Stade de Gerland at some point this season. There will also be a Spanish adventure for Andre Villas-Boas’ Chelsea and an Italian affair for Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Porto have been offered a rather kind return to the UEFA Champions League with APOEL, Shakhtar and Zenit making Group G look more like a UEFA Europa League table. The 8 UEFA Champions League groups go as follows:

Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli

Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor

Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basle, Otelul

Group D: Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb

Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk

Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund

Group G: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, APOEL

Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Plzen