On Thursday the UEFA  went ahead with its annual draw to decide the groups for the UEFA Champions League group stage. There are some pretty interesting groups that feature some key matchups. Ronaldo and Juventus are placed in the same group as Lionel Messi and Barcelona, while PSG will face Manchester United and Bayern Munich the defending champs will have to deal with Athletico Madrid.

Group A features as mentioned Bayern Munich who will look to defend their title are joined by Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, and Lokomotiv Moska.

In Group B, it'll be Real Madrid who won La Liga last year, Shaktar Donetsk, Inter, and Monchengladbach. Madrid should be heavy favorites to advance but Inter and Shaktar could cause problems for Los Blancos.

Group C has Porto, Manchester City, Olympiacos, and Marseille. Man City who were able to beat Real Madrid in the round of 16 last year will be looking to improve on that result. Marseille should be able to finish second in a group that could be tough to decide.

Group D has Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, and Midtjylland. While again Liverpool are the favorites Atalanta did cause some upsets in last year's tournament. Midtjylland make their Champions League debut and came through qualifying.

Group E has Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, and Rennes, Chelsea. Sevilla should be able to pass but don't look past Rennes who are also making their debut in the tournament.

Group F features Zenit St Peterburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, and Club Brugge. Brugge caused Real Madrid all sorts of trouble last year and could do the same again to Dortmund. Lazio is also a tricky opponent that could potentially cause an upset.

Group G is the group with Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv, and Ferencvaros. Both Ronaldo and Messi almost changed clubs as Juventus looked to sell the superstar while Messi wanted out of Barcelona after a disappointing campaign that saw them get humiliated by Bayern Munich 8-2. Ferencvaros making their Champions League debut. 

Finally, Group H features PSG, Manchester United, Leipzig, and Istanbul Basaksehir. PSG, and Manchester United are favorites to move on to the knockout stage but Leipzig could cause problems for both. 

This year's final is scheduled for May 29, 2021, in Istanbul as it was rescheduled to host after not being able to last year. The action begins on October 20 with Matchday 1.

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