UEFA Champions League English

Liverpool face Ajax test while Messi will be pitted against Ronaldo in Champions League draw

Premier League champions Liverpool will be taking the gauntlet of facing Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland in the group stages of the Champions League, which will also interestingly pit Barcelona against Juventus following yesterday’s draw in Geneva.

The six-time winners of the European Cup were one of the eight top seeds and went into Group D.

Barca, humiliated 8-2 by eventual champions Bayern Munich in last season’s one-off quarter-finals, were drawn together with Juve in Group G — which will see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo squaring off in a renewal of their rivalry.

Group G is completed by Dynamo Kiev and Hungarian side Ferencvaros.

Manchester City have been drawn alongside Porto, Olympiakos and Marseille in Group C.

Manchester United are in Group H, where they will take on last season’s runners-up Paris Saint-Germain as well as RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir.

In Group E, Chelsea have been drawn alongside Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes.

Holders Bayern Munich are in Group A along with Atletico Madrid, Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Group B will see Real Madrid face Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Monchengladbach. Zenit St Petersburg are top seeds in Group F, where they will take on Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Club Bruges.

THE DRAW

Group A Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow

Group B Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Monchengladbach

Group C Porto, Man City, Olympiakos, Marseille

Group D Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, Midtjylland

Group E Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes

Group F Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Bruges

Group G Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros

Group H Paris Saint-Germain, Man Utd, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir