Paris Saint-Germain and its star forward Kylian Mbappe landed in the toughest group in the Champions League draw Thursday with former champions AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund, plus Newcastle.
Bayern Munich’s new signing Harry Kane will return to England to face Manchester United in a group that also includes Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Man United beat Bayern in the 1999 final after an injury-time comeback.
Record 14-time champion Real Madrid plays Napoli, Braga and debutant Union Berlin.
Man City, the defending champion, got a favorable draw and will play Leipzig for the third straight season, plus Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.
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Last season's finalist Inter Milan will play Benfica – which it beat in the quarterfinals – plus Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
Barcelona was drawn with Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp, another Champions League debutant which last played in the competition in the old European Cup in 1957.
Arsenal’s return after six years away will be against Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.
Soccer
Feyenoord, the 1970 European Cup winner, was grouped with the team it beat in that final, Celtic, plus Atlético Madrid and Lazio.
Here is a full list of groups and teams for the group stage:
- Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray
- Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Lens
- Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
- Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Salzburg, Real Sociedad
- Group E: Feyenoord, Atlético Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
- Group F: Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle
- Group G: Manchester City, Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys
- Group H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Royal Antwerp
Teams from 15 different nations were in the draw, including 14 former European champions who have combined to win 48 titles in the competition's 68-year history.
Games start Sept. 19 and group-stage play ends Dec. 13.
The knockout stage starts in February and reaches the final at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1.
