(REUTERS) – Manchester City were given a daunting introduction to the Champions League after they were drawn alongside Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli in Group A.
Though none of the four teams are their respective national champions, the depth of quality in the group will likely ensure a tough test for Roberto Mancini and his side in their first venture into the competition. In Group E, Chelsea’s new signing Juan Mata was handed an immediate return to Valencia, with Bayer Leverkusen and Genk making up the remainder of the first group to await new manager Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge.
With Sir Bobby Charlton on stage to help draw the balls, Manchester United were drawn against Benfica, the team they defeated in the 1968 final at Wembley, as well as Swiss club FC Basel and Romanians Otelul Galati in a favourable draw for the English champions.
Arsenal, who defeated Udinese on Wednesday to confirm their participation in the group stage, will face Marseille and Olympiacos in Group F, but in the final draw, the Gunners were unfortunate to see German champions Borussia Dortmund placed in their group.
In another eye-catching draw, reigning champions Barcelona were drawn against seven-time winners AC Milan, who boast former Barca striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their ranks. Real Madrid were drawn against Lyon for the third year in succession.
Full Champions League draw conducted in Monaco:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli
Group B: Internazionale, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica,F C Basel, Otelul Galati
Group D: Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb
Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk
Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund
Group G: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, APOEL
Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzen