Barcelona captured the 2014-2015 UEFA Champions League with a victory over Juventus in the final match. The defending champs got a favorable draw in Group E, as did newcomer Manchester United in Group B, while Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have a tough road ahead.
Check out Thursday's group stage drawing below:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
Paris (FRA) | PSV (NED) | Benfica (POR) | Juventus (ITA) |
Real Madrid (ESP) | Man. United (ENG) | Atletico (ESP) | Man. City (ENG) |
Shaktar Donestk (UKR) | CSKA Moscow (RUS) | Galatasaray (TUR) | Sevilla (ESP) |
Malmo (SWE) | Wolfsburg (GER) | Astana (KAZ) | Monchengladbach (GER) |
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
Barcelona (ESP) | Bayern Munich (GER) | Chelsea (ENG) | Zenit (RUS) |
Leverkusen (GER) | Arsenal (ENG) | Porto (POR) | Valencia (ESP) |
Roma (ITA) | Olympiacos (GRE) | Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) | Lyon (FRA) |
BATE (BLR) | Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) | Gent (BEL) |
The new clubs that will be participating in the 2015-2016 Champions League include Manchester United, PSV, Wolfsburg, Astana, Sevilla, Monchengladbach, Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv, M. Tel-Aviv, Valencia and Lyon. Liverpool missed out on this year's event after finishing sixth in the English Premier League.
Below are the match dates for the group stage:
Matchday 1: Sept. 15, 16
Matchday 2: Sept. 29, 30
Matchday 3: Oct. 20, 21
Matchday 4: Nov. 3, 4
Matchday 5: Nov. 24, 25
Matchday 6: Dec. 8, 9
Click here for the full season calendar.
Group D is considered the toughest with Juventus (runners-up last year), Manchester City (runners-up in EPL last year), Sevilla (back-to-back Europa League Champions) and Monchengladbach. However, the story of this year's Champions League will likely focus on Manchester United and manager Louis van Gaal after the club failed to qualify last season.
During today's group stage drawing, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi was named the Best Player in Europe of the second time in his career after beating out Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow teammate Luis Suarez. A live poll of 54 journalists determined the winner after the finalists were announced on August 12.
The 2015-2016 Champions League starts in just under three weeks and this year is likely to be more competitive than the last.
