Uefa Champions League 2018/19 groups and award winners
Real Madrid to face Roma, Barça have Spurs and Inter, Atlético to meet Dortmund and Valencia to challenge Juventus and United. Tasty ties await...
The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco was the scene for the 2018/19 Champions League group stage draw on Thursday and it has left us with plenty to look forward to..
Exciting games for Spanish clubs
The four Spanish teams had mixed fortunes. The reigning champions Real Madrid have been put in Group G along with Roma, CSKA Moscow and Plzen which, given the potential opposition, will be considered favourable at the Bernabéu. LaLiga champions Barcelona have a tougher set of games ahead in Group B - at least on paper - with home and away fixtures against Spurs, PSV and Inter Milan.
Europa League winners Atlético Madrid are also likely to be tested with Dortmund, Monaco and Club Brugge joining them in Group A, more of a challenge it seems than last year's which caused all sorts of problems. Valencia are back in the big time and their fans can look forward to seeing the stars of Juventus and Manchester United, as well as the lesser-known talents of Young Boys.
The completed Champions League groups
A: Atlético, Dortmund, Monaco, Brugges
B: Barça, Spurs, PSV, Inter
C: PSG, Napoli, Liverpool, Red Star
D: Lokomotiv, Porto, Schalke, Galatasaray
E: Bayern, Benfica, Ajax, AEK Athens
F: Man City, Shakhtar, Lyon, Hoffenheim
G: Real Madrid, Roma, CSKA, Victoria Plzen
H: Juve, Man Utd, Valencia, Young Boys
Uefa award winners
As is commonplace at the draw, a number of awards were handed out. First up was former England, Man Utd, Real Madrid, PSG, AC Milan, LA Galaxy (did we miss anyone?) midfielder David Beckham, who picked up the Uefa President's award. After that came the individual trophies from the past season, all of whom represented for Real Madrid:
Best goalkeeper: Keylor Navas
Best defender: Sergio Ramos
Best midfielder: Luka Modric
Best forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
And so it was no surprise when Luka Modrid scopped the award for Player of the Season, with a World Cup runners-up medal picked up in the summer with Croatia helping his cause.