Manchester United to face Celtic in Europe

Champions League holders Manchester United were drawn with Scottish champions Celtic in the group stages of this year's competition.

The British pair will also face Spaniards Villarreal and Danish side Aalborg in Group E.

Chelsea were drawn with Roma, Bordeaux and Romanian minnows CFR Cluj, while Liverpool will meet PSV, Marseille and Atletico Madrid in a tough group.

Arsenal will play Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.

The four English sides were guaranteed to be kept apart after being made top seeds, but Celtic could have faced any one of them after being drawn in the third pot of clubs.

They will get their chance to test themselves against the English champions in two mouth-watering clashes.

The fixtures will pit Celtic manager Gordon Strachan against his one-time boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The pair met in the Champions League group stages in 2006/07, with Celtic winning 1-0 at home but Manchester United edging the fixture 3-2 at Old Trafford.

"It was a great event the last time we played," said United chief executive David Gill. "Both clubs have passionate fans and we're looking forward to it.

Last time they won (at Celtic) to qualify and we went down to the last game to ensure we went through.

"The players and the fans will already be looking to that fixture on the calendar."

Celtic chairman John Reid added: "It's fabulous for Celtic fans. There are no easy groups, there are no free passes in Europe.

"We're just proud to be Scotland's representative in there and to be playing the European champions."

"United star Cristiano Ronaldo was at the draw in Monaco, where he was named Uefa's European Club Footballer of the Year.

Ronaldo scored eight goals in the competition last season and also won the award for the forward of the year.

The other awards went to rivals Chelsea, with Petr Cech (goalkeeper), John Terry (defender) and Frank Lampard (midfielder) all voted the best at their position.

Chelsea, who lost last season's final to United, were the first side out of the hat and look to have been given the easiest task of progressing through to the knockout stages.

Among Chelsea's opponents will be French side Bordeaux, who are managed by former Manchester United defender and World Cup winner with France, Laurent Blanc.

Blues secretary David Barnard said: "It's a mixed bag but any team that reaches the group stages has to be given respect.

"We are totally focused on Champions League, the determination is there and they are completely focused on making the final again this year."


Courtesy : BBC