Champions League Draw

Ok, here's the draw result:

Group A
Liverpool
Porto
Marseille
Besiktas

Group B
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke
Rosenborg

Group C
Real Madrid
Werder Bremen
Lazio
Olympiakos

Group D
AC Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers

Group F
Manchester United
Roma
Sporting Lison
Dynamo Kiev

Group G
Inter Milan
PSV
CSKA Moscow
Fenerbahce

Group H
Arsenal
Sevilla or AEK Athens
Steaua Bucharest
Slavia Prague

Phew. That was one helluva long draw. I don't recall last year's being this long. Bloody took an hour on a dodgy stream. I can't exactly say I'm pleased with the teams we're facing. On paper, we should be able to top the group but as you know, football isn't played on paper.

What scares me is the whole revenge factor being so fresh on Roma's minds. I honestly don't know, given our domestic problems, that this is a good time to face Roma. Then again, there are no easy games in the Champions League. At least on paper (again), we're facing two other weaker European opponents in Sporting and Dynamo Kiev.

On the whole, all the top seeded teams look set to advance. With the number of good teams knocked out in the qualifying stages, there doesn't seem to be any potential banana skins on the way to the next round.