United handed very favourable Champions League draw

Manchester United has been drawn in Group C of the Champions League alongside Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati. Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted with the draw and the Red Devils will be a very low price with bookmakers to qualify for the knock-out stages of the competition.

At a lavish event in Monaco, United were given a highly-favourable draw in the Champions League group stage as they aim to reach a third final in four seasons.

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, bizarrely sporting a polo shirt and shorts, featured on the main stage; as did Luis Figo, United’s Director of Football Sir Bobby Charlton, Ruud Gullit and Lothar Matthäus.

Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson will be relieved to have avoided the likes of AC Milan in pot two and Dutch giants Ajax in pot three; whilst Napoli and Dortmund were potentially troubling opponents in the fourth pot.

Though there will be no room for complacency, United have arguably been handed a dream draw and will be heavy favourites to win the group.

Elsewhere, rivals Man City face tough trips to Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli, whilst under-pressure Arsene Wenger will see his side take on Marseille, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund.

Chelsea, desperate for their first Champions League triumph, will be expected safely negotiate their way through Group E – which also features Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Genk.

The ‘Group of Death’ is arguably Group D. Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb will provide fierce competition for one another.

European giants Barcelona and AC Milan will battle it out in Group H, though both sides will be hopeful of qualifying with BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen completing the quartet.

Group A:

Bayern Munich
Villarreal
Manchester City
Napoli

Group B:

Inter Milan
CSKA Moscow
Lille
Trabzonspor

Group C:

Manchester United
Benfica
FC Basel
Otelul Galati

Group D:

Real Madrid
Lyon
Ajax
Dinamo Zagreb

Group E:

Chelsea
Valencia
Bayer Leverkusen
Genk

Group F:

Arsenal
Marseille
Olympiakos
Borussia Dortmund

Group G:

Porto
Shakhtar
Zenit St Petersburg
Apoel FC

Group H:

Barcelona
AC Milan
BATE Borisov
Viktoria Plzen