Holders Chelsea paired with Juventus in Champions League draw

Holders Chelsea will play Juventus in the group stage of this season’s Champions League while runners-up Manchester City will take on Lionel Messi and Paris St Germain.

Six-time winners Liverpool will return to the scene of their 2019 triumph in the competition, the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, after being paired with Atletico Madrid while Manchester United face a Europa League final rematch against Villarreal.

Chelsea were placed in Group H, which also included final hosts Zenit St Petersburg and Malmo, in Thursday’s draw for the competition.

Premier League champions City were drawn in what seemed a particularly competitive Group A, also featuring 2020 semi-finalists Leipzig and Bruges.

Liverpool’s Group B was completed by Porto and AC Milan – winners of nine titles between them – with United also up against Atalanta and Young Boys.

Other eye-catching pairings saw Inter Milan pitted against Real Madrid in Group D and Bayern Munich facing Barcelona in Group E.

Group D was completed by Shaktar Donestsk and Sheriff while Benfica and Dynamo Kiev made up Group E.

Group C included Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and Besiktas and Group G featured Lille, Sevilla, Salzburg and Wolfsburg.

Also at the draw, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder Jorginho were named Champions League men’s manager and player of the season for 2020-21 respectively. City’s Ruben Dias took the top defender award.