The draw for the group stage of the Champions League is taking place in Monaco, and you can follow all the latest here.
GROUP A MANCHESTER UNITED, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen
GROUP B Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray
GROUP C Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiacos
GROUP D Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, MANCHESTER CITY
GROUP E CHELSEA, Schalke, Basel
GROUP F ARSENAL, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli
GROUP G Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg
GROUP H Barcelona, Milan, Ajax
5.30 So City get the holders, and Arsenal are drawn with the runners-up. Arsenal, incidentally, were grouped with Marseille and Dortmund two seasons ago and came through okay
Just Pot 4 to go, then, and on comes Paulo Sousa - back-to-back winner with Juventus and Dortmund - to do the honours.
5.20 That's Pot Two drawn, and Groups B and H are looking like the prime candidates for the dreaded 'Group of Death' moniker. Manchester City will be getting nervous...Drawing the balls this time? Michael Owen.
5.10 Billy McNeill's number is held aloft and on comes Johan Cruyff - three-time winner with Ajax - to make the next part of the draw...
5.00 Joining Billy at the bowls is another former winner, Luis Figo, who is apparently an ambassador for this year's final in his native Portugal - at Benfica's Stadium of Light in Lisbon, to be exact.
UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino runs us through the rules quickly - the assembled delegates fidget and look distracted like aeroplane passengers during the safety procedure.
And now we're away...
4.55 Apologies for the duff information: the vote will take place later in proceedings and for now we welcome a guest - Celtic's Lisbon Lion Billy McNeill - who will help draw the balls.
McNeill brings 'Big Ears' with him for good measure and sets the famous trophy down at the front of the stage.
4.45 Over to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, then, where the customary pomp will precede the nitty-gritty of the draw.
First on the agenda is the vote to decide who will become the third UEFA Best Player In Europe award winner.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery are the shortlisted players, and journalists from each of UEFA's member countries will vote live to determine which of them follows in the footsteps of previous winners Andres Iniesta and Messi.
4.30 The ceremony is due to crank into action at 4.45pm, UK time, and we'll have details of the groups as they are drawn.
Three of the four English teams represented are in Pot One and will avoid Europe's very biggest names, but Manchester City and Celtic are seeded lower and can expect to find themselves in tough sections.
Full details of the seedings are here:
Pot 1: FC Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Porto, Benfica
Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan, Schalke, Marseille, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Juventus
Pot 3: Zenit, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Basel, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Napoli, Anderlecht, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Pizen, Real Sociedad, Austria Vienna
GROUP A MANCHESTER UNITED, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen
GROUP B Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray
GROUP C Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiacos
GROUP D Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, MANCHESTER CITY
GROUP E CHELSEA, Schalke, Basel
GROUP F ARSENAL, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli
GROUP G Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg
GROUP H Barcelona, Milan, Ajax
5.30 So City get the holders, and Arsenal are drawn with the runners-up. Arsenal, incidentally, were grouped with Marseille and Dortmund two seasons ago and came through okay
Just Pot 4 to go, then, and on comes Paulo Sousa - back-to-back winner with Juventus and Dortmund - to do the honours.
5.20 That's Pot Two drawn, and Groups B and H are looking like the prime candidates for the dreaded 'Group of Death' moniker. Manchester City will be getting nervous...Drawing the balls this time? Michael Owen.
5.10 Billy McNeill's number is held aloft and on comes Johan Cruyff - three-time winner with Ajax - to make the next part of the draw...
5.00 Joining Billy at the bowls is another former winner, Luis Figo, who is apparently an ambassador for this year's final in his native Portugal - at Benfica's Stadium of Light in Lisbon, to be exact.
UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino runs us through the rules quickly - the assembled delegates fidget and look distracted like aeroplane passengers during the safety procedure.
And now we're away...
4.55 Apologies for the duff information: the vote will take place later in proceedings and for now we welcome a guest - Celtic's Lisbon Lion Billy McNeill - who will help draw the balls.
McNeill brings 'Big Ears' with him for good measure and sets the famous trophy down at the front of the stage.
4.45 Over to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, then, where the customary pomp will precede the nitty-gritty of the draw.
First on the agenda is the vote to decide who will become the third UEFA Best Player In Europe award winner.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery are the shortlisted players, and journalists from each of UEFA's member countries will vote live to determine which of them follows in the footsteps of previous winners Andres Iniesta and Messi.
4.30 The ceremony is due to crank into action at 4.45pm, UK time, and we'll have details of the groups as they are drawn.
Three of the four English teams represented are in Pot One and will avoid Europe's very biggest names, but Manchester City and Celtic are seeded lower and can expect to find themselves in tough sections.
Full details of the seedings are here:
Pot 1: FC Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Porto, Benfica
Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan, Schalke, Marseille, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Juventus
Pot 3: Zenit, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Basel, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Napoli, Anderlecht, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Pizen, Real Sociedad, Austria Vienna
No comments:
Post a Comment