Holders Atletico draw Bayer Leverkusen
Juventus paired with City; Napoli face Liverpool
Europa League holders Atletico Madrid will face German big guns Bayer Leverkusen while Liverpool meet Romania’s Steaua Bucharest following the draw for the group stage yesterday.
Atletico, who beat Fulham in last season’s final thanks to an extra-time goal from Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, face an awkward Group B as not only must they take on Germany captain Michael Ballack’s new team but they also meet Norwegian side Rosenborg as well as Aris of Greece.
Liverpool are the most successful European side among the 48 teams contesting the group stages having won the Champions League five times and the UEFA Cup – precursor to the Europa League – three times, most recently in 2001.
Now coached by Roy Hodgson, who guided Fulham to last year’s final, Liverpool will also have to overcome the 1989 UEFA Cup winners Napoli in Group K along with Dutch side Utrecht who thrashed Celtic 4-0 on Thursday to claim their place in the pot.
Italian giants Juventus are another side with a rich European pedigree having won two European Cups, three UEFA Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup.
They were drawn in Group A alongside big spending English side Manchester City whose sole European success came in the Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1970.
Austria’s Salzburg and Poland’s Lech Poznan make up the group.
Sevilla, two times winners of the UEFA Cup, will also have their work cut out to reach the knockout phase as they have been pitted against German side Borussia Dortmund, the French Cup winners Paris Saint Germain and Karpaty of Ukraine.
The top two from each of the 12 groups progress to the knockout stage where they will be joined by the third-placed teams from the eight Champions League groups in the round of 32.
The draw
Group A: Juventus, Manchester City, Salzburg, Lech Poznan. Opening fixtures: Sept. 16 – Salzburg vs Man. City; Juventus vs Lech Poznan.
Group B: Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg, Aris. Sept. 16: Aris vs Atletico Madrid; B. Leverkusen vs Rosenborg.
Group C: Sporting Lisbon, Lille, Levski Sofia, Ghent. Sept. 16: Lille vs Sporting; Levski Sofia vs Ghent.
Group D: Villarreal, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, PAOK. Sept. 16: D. Zagreb vs Villarreal; Brugge vs Paok.
Group E: AZ Alkmaar, Dynamo Kiev, BATE Borisov, FC Sheriff. Sept. 16: Alkmaar vs Sheriff; D. Kiev vs Bate Borisov.
Group F: CSKA Moscow, Palermo, Sparta Prague, Lausanne. Sept. 16: Sparta Prague vs Palermo; Lausanne vs CSKA Moscow.
Group G: Zenit SP, Anderlecht, AEK Athens, Hajduk Split. Sept. 16: Anderlecht vs Zenit; AEK Athens vs Hajduk Split.
Group H: Stuttgart, Getafe, Odense, Young Boys. Sept. 16: Stuttgart vs Young Boys; Getafe vs Odense.
Group I: PSV Eindhoven, Sampdoria, Metalist Kharkiv, Debrecen. Sept. 16: Debrecen vs Metalist; PSV vs Sampdoria.
Group J: Sevilla, Paris SG, B. Dortmund, FC Karpaty Lviv. Sept. 16: Karpaty vs B. Dortmund; Sevilla vs PSG.
Group K: Liverpool, Steaua Bucharest, Napoli, Utrecht. Sept. 16: Napoli vs Utrecht; Liverpool vs S. Bucharest.
Group L: Porto, Besiktas, CSKA Sofia, Rapid Vienna. Sept. 16: Besiktas vs CSKA Sofia; Porto vs Rapid Vienna.