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Thursday 25 August 2011

Barcelona and AC Milan drawn together in Champions League group 

Champions League holders Barcelona will face seven-time winners AC Milan in their group when Europe's money-spinning competition begins in September.

Pep Guardiola's Spanish outfit will also face Belarus minnows BATE Borisov and Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Group H as they bid to claim the trophy for the third time in four years.

Manchester United -- the side Barca beat in the 2011 final -- will play Portuguese club Benfica in Group C, along with Swiss side FC Basel and FC Otelul Galati, of Romania.

Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid are reunited with three-time winners Ajax, from the Netherlands, who they beat home and away in the competition last season. French club Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb, from Croatia, are also in Group D.

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Newcomers Manchester City have been handed a tough task in Group A in their first ever foray into the Champions League. They play German side Bayern, who have won the tournament four times, Spanish side Villarreal, and Napoli, from Italy.

2010 winners Inter Milan have been drawn with French champions Lille in Group B and also face a tricky trip to Russia to face CSKA Moscow.

Turkish side Trabzonspor, who replaced Fenerbahce after they were removed from the competition over match-fixing claims, make up the group.

English club Arsenal, who qualified by beating Udinese on Wednesday, will face Marseille, from France, Greek side Olympiakos and German champions Borussia Dortmund in Group F.

Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea have been drawn against Spanish side Valencia, which means an instant return to his old club for their new recruit Juan Mata. German side Bayer Leverkusen and Belgium's Racing Genk are also in Group E.

Portuguese title winners FC Porto will play Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg from Russia and Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia.

Fenerbahce withdrawn from UCL over match fixing

At the ceremony in Monaco, Barcelona's Lionel Messi -- who scored in the Champions League final at Wembley in May -- claimed the Best Player in Europe award.

"I'd like to thank all the people that voted for me, and all my team-mates." said the 24-year-old told UEFA's official web site.

"I keep all these awards at home and I still have some space for more. It's an honor to be so successful and to come up with the goods at the right time; thanks to my team-mates for helping me achieve this.

"[My motivation] comes from being at a club that's so successful and having a structure that allows us to be so successful; that was taught to me when I moved over and I've tried my best to keep it up."

Messi's Spanish teammates Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez were second and fourth respectively, with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in third.

The first games in the Champions League group stage will take place on September 13 and 14.

The Champions League group draw in full:

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

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

Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, FC Basel, FC Otelul Galati.

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

Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk.

Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund.

Group G: FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, APOEL Nicosia.

Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzen.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

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