The Champions League draw is out and Chelsea were handed a fairly straightforward group. Jose Mourinho will reacquaint himself with former club Porto, take on Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev. This should be a breeze.
Not so Man City and Arsenal.
The in form league side have drawn last year’s finalists Juventus as well as Sevilla, the Europa League winners. Borussia Moenchengladbach, the Bundesliga’s third placed side rounds off the group. Arsenal, enduring a stuttering start to their season face Bayern Munich, a familiar foe and stumbling block, Greek side Olympiacos, who face sanctions due to financial irregularities, and Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb.
Man Utd also face a tricky group with PSV Eindhoven, a club Louis Van Gaal should be very well acquainted with during his years in Ajax and AZ Alkmaar; CSKA Moscow, always a tough away side, and Wolfsburg who could be losing Kevin De Bruyne but still look very good.
How will La Liga sides fare? Five clubs represented in the Champions League group stage from one league for the first time. From the looks of it, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico should face few problems qualifying for the knockout stage. Valencia have a tough group with Lyon, Zenit, and Gent and Sevilla are lumped with the aforementioned City, Juventus, and M’gladbach in the Group of Death.