Liverpool, the most successful British club in Europe, have returned to the Champions League after finishing second to champions Manchester City in the Premier League last season.

Chelsea and Arsenal have also secured a place in the group stage of the Champions League with the Gunners qualifying after beating Turkish side Besiktas in a play-off.

Liverpool were drawn in Group B along with holders Real Madrid to further enhance the glamour of what is widely regarded as the world’s top football competition.

The other teams in the group are Swiss side Basle and Bulgarian champions Ludogorets.

After so long in the wilderness, the Anfield giants were ready to embrace whatever they were given by the men in suits in Monaco. The draw has only served to whet the appetite.

Chelsea reached the semi-finals last season as Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid made it to the final in Lisbon.

Real were crowned European champions for a record 10th time after beating Atletico 4-1 after extra-time.

After 26 successive appearances in the Champions League/European Cup, Manchester United did not qualify after finishing a disappointing seventh in the Premier League last season.

Manchester City were handed a tough draw for the fourth season in a row after being paired with Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Roma in Group E.

Poor start

Day One results were disappointing for English sides.

The only win came at Anfield where Liverpool were lucky to take the three points against Ludogorets. The winning goal came from a Steve Gerrard penalty in stoppage time.

Manchester City were undone by a last-gasp goal from Jerome Boateng, their former defender, in Munich.

London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal didn’t fare much better.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were pegged back by Schalke 04 in a 1-1 draw while Arsenal went down 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund.

In the second round of matches, Manchester City, who were knocked out by Barcelona last year, take on Roma at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

Manuel Pellegrini, City’s Chilean manager, has high hopes that his side will make progress in this season’s Champions League.

Those City fans who remember trips to unfashionable Macclesfield will take it in their stride, simply enjoying the opportunity to visit the Eternal City on December 10, despite the obvious threat from a talented side like Roma.

Yet Pellegrini, who is known as the engineer in football circles, has beefed up his squad, introducing the likes of Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala, to strengthen their resilience in Europe.

City will be meeting Roma for the first time in Europe.

In previous matches against Italian sides, City have only advanced once:

1976-77 UEFA Cup first round
City vs Juventus − H1-0, A0-2 (1-2 aggregate).

1978-79 UEFA Cup third round
City vs Milan − A2-2, H3-0 (5-2).

2010-11 Europa League group
City vs Juventus − H1-1, A1-1 (2 points).

2011-12 Champions League group
City vs Napoli − H1-1, A1-2 (1 point).

Chelsea will also be in action on Tuesday, when they travel to Portugal to take on Sporting Lisbon in Group G.

The Londoners, who appear to have the easiest passage to the knock-out stage, will be encountering Portuguese opposition for the third time after previous duels with Porto and Benfica.

Chelsea hold the upperhand as they have always qualified at the expense of Portuguese teams.

The last encounter was against Benfica in the quarter-finals of the 2011/12 Champions League.

Chelsea won 3-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal in Turkey

The remaining two English sides, Arsenal and Liverpool, will play their games on Wednesday night.

The Gunners host Galatasaray at the Emirates Stadium.

Galatasaray will be no pushovers. Now led by former Italy manager Cesare Prandelli, the Turks were eliminated by Chelsea in the first knock-out stage last season.

Arsenal had a hard nut to crack against another Turkish team, Besiktas, in the play-off.

After drawing 0-0 away, the Gunners won 1-0 at home thanks to a goal from new boy Alexis Sanchez.

Arsenal have a score to settle with Galatasaray. Their only previous clash with the Turks came in the final of the 2000 UEFA Cup in Copenhagen where, after a 0-0 draw, the Londoners lost the penalty shoot-out 1-4.

Liverpool will be on their travels as they go to Switzerland to meet Basel.

Basel, of course, cannot be underestimated after beating Chelsea twice last season, 2-1 away and 1-0 at home.

The only occasion these two sides have met in a group match of the Champions League was in 2002-03 when the points were shared. Following a 1-1 draw at Anfield, the Swiss held Liverpool to a 3-3 draw at home.

Meanwhile, Celtic, who reached the knock-out phase of the Champions League last season, failed to make it to the group stage this term after going down to Slovenia’s Maribor, losing 1-0 at Celtic Park after a 1-1 draw away.