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32 teams remain in the UEFA Champions League and during a ceremony in Monaco that took much too long, the group stage draw occurred. Manchester United will face Benfica, FC Basel, and FC Otelul Galati. Here is the rest of the draw:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal CF, Manchester City, Napoli
Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor AS
Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, FC Basel, FC Otelul Galati
Group D: Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb
Group E: Chelsea FC, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, KRC Genk
Group F: Arsenal FC, Olympique de Marseille, Olympiacos FC, Borussia Dortmund
Group G: FC Porto, Shaktar Donetsk, Zenit St. Petersburg, APOEL FC
Group H: FC Barcelona, AC Milan, FC BATE, FC Viktoria Plzen
My initial impression is gratitude for avoiding the likes of Villarreal, Milan, Napoli, and Dortmund. In addition, United will be strong favorites to win a group that includes Benfica, FC Basel, and FC Otelul Galati - this is certainly a good draw. There is always the "Group of Death" discussion and Group A appears to be that this time around with Bayern, Villarreal, City, and Napoli. The "noisy neighbors" face baptism by fire in that incredibly difficult group.
What are your thoughts on the draw? Are you pleased with United's group? Who is your group of death?