Confirmed Champions League 2015/16 group stage draw

Posted Friday, August 28, 2015 by squawka.com

The draw for the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage has been revealed, with Manchester City and Arsenal drawn with some rather tricky ties, but Manchester United and Chelsea, in particular, will be counting their blessings after a kind draw.

Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United side qualified for the group stage after beating Belgian giants Club Brugge 7-1 on aggregate on Wednesday, thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick and Ander Herrera effort.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Manchester City guaranteed their spots after finishing in the top two last season, whilst Arsenal head straight into the draw having finished third in the top-flight last term.

With Barcelona the reigning champions after beating Juventus back in June in Berlin, who will be the side that take the trophy off them or will the Catalan giants produce magic once again?

Confirmed Champions League 2015/16 group stage draw

Manchester United have been drawn in Group B alongside Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, with Memphis Depay set to return to the club he left this summer.

Van Gaal will know PSV well from his days as Ajax manager and perhaps him and Depay will look to collaborate tactics wise to overcome Philipp Cocu’s troops.

The Red Devils also have Russian outfit CSKA Moscow, whilst German outfit VFL Wolfsburg make up the group.
Meanwhile, Chelsea – who exited the competition last season in the second round after losing to Paris Saint-Germain – will face FC Porto in Group G, as well as Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kiev.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are in Group F with German giants Bayern Munich who they have faced a number of times in recent seasons. The Gunners also have Greek outfit Olympiakos and GNK Dinamo.

Manchester City will have to take on Juventus – last season’s finalists and current Serie A champions – in Group D. The Citizens also have to take on Europa League winners Sevilla, whilst Borussia Monchengladbach are also in there.

Group A is a mouthwatering one as well, with ten-time champions Real Madrid paired with Paris Saint-Germain and Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk, as well as Malmo.

Reigning champions Barcelona will take on BATE Borisov, Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma.