Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho will face the FC Porto team he led to the Champions League title last season in the new first round.
Paris Saint-Germain and CSKA Moscow were also drawn in Group H on Thursday.
PSG coach Vahid Halilhodzic expressed awe at the draw.
"We really have no luck. Porto is the defending champion, Chelsea is the richest club in the world and Moscow is the farthest away," Halilhodzic said. "It will be a great challenge but one which can have leave psychological scars."
Opening group matches take place on Sept. 14-15.
FC Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson will be another facing his former team. His Catalan squad is in Group F and will take on Larsson's old Glasgow Celtic teammates, as well as 2003 winner AC Milan and Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk. Larsson scored 242 goals for Celtic.
"It is great to be in the Champions League, but we couldn't have asked for a much tougher group," said Celtic manager Martin O'Neill. "That is just our luck really, but let's just enjoy it."
Milan has been crowned European Champion six times, second only to nine-time winner Real Madrid.
"This is one of the best Champions Leagues in history and I'm sure fans are going to really enjoy it," Barcelona president Joan Laporta said.
Real Madrid was drawn in Group B along with Bayer Leverkusen, the team it beat to win the 2002 Champions League, courtesy of a spectacular Zinedine Zidane goal. Joining them are Italian giant Roma and Dynamo Kiev.
"The three teams we have to play are very equal. Roma is an important team but so are Bayer Leverkusen and Dynamo Kiev," Real Madrid coach Jose Antonio Camacho told Radio Marca.
Group C features three former Champions League winners: Bayern Munich, Juventus and Ajax. Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv completes the quartet.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care