2010-11 UEFA Champions League Group Stages Draw: Group A & Group G the most exciting: AC Milan & Real Madrid to Battle It Out
The draw for the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League are out, and as expected, there are some interesting matches to look forward to. However, some of Europe’s biggest names have been drawn in relatively easy groups.
The most interesting group is the very first one. Group A obviously had the number one seeded defending champions Inter Milan. English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time less than 24 hours ago after beating Young Boys 4-0, have been drawn with the champions. German team Werder Bremen are also placed in the same group with Dutch champions FC Twente making the 4th team.
Group B has the French champions Lyon seeded as the first team. Portuguese team Benfica were drawn against them first, followed by FC Schalke, and unknown quantity Hapoel Tel Aviv. Lyon look to be the favourites to make it through alongside Benfica in Group B.
2008 European Champions Manchester United have been drawn against Rangers from Scotland. Twice before they had played against Celtic from Scotland and qualified above them. Apart from them, Valencia (a strong team in Group C) and Turkish team Bursaspor make up the four teams. Manchester United and Valencia may be the favourites to go through, but Rangers may have something to say about that.
Over to Group D now: former European champions Barcelona is a team most would have been looking to avoid. They looked to have got an easier group; Greek club Panathinaikos may be the only big name in Group D to challenge them to some degree. Other than that, FC Copenhagen from Denmark and Rubin Kazan may be considered to be the ones fighting it out for the Europa League place once the group stages are over.
Group E has German giants Bayern Munich seeded as number one: also former European champions that came close last year in the final, but Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan were too good for them on the night. They will be joined by Italian team AS Roma. FC Basel from Switzerland are not considered to be one of the teams fighting to go through, while CFR 1907 Cluj are almost certain to be the on the receiving end in this group.
English Premier League champions Chelsea are placed in Group F. French team Marseille join them there. The group looks to be an easy one for Chelsea, who are still looking for their first Champions League trophy. Spartak Moscow and MSK Zilina are the other two sides in Group F.
One of the most decorated teams in the Champions League, AC Milan from Italy, have been placed in Group G. Spanish giants Real Madrid have also been drawn in the same group, and the home and away ties between the two would be by far the most eagerly anticipated clashes of the group stages. AFC Ajax and AJ Auxerre fill in the last two spots in Group G.
And finally, Group H has English Premier League’s 4th team Arsenal. They are against none of the big boys of Europe and may see an easy path to the knockout stages. FC Shakhtar Donetsk may be the team to follow them to the Final 16. SC Braga and FK Partizan are the other two teams in the group.
So there it is: the draws for the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League have finally been announced. Most of the big names do have an easy path to the Final 16, while AC Milan and Real Madrid may be the two big teams fighting it out in the group stages.
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