Draws out for UEFA Champions League 2012/13 Group Stage

The draw for the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage was carried out today at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. And all the 32 participating clubs aim to reach the final to be played on May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London.

The strongest of all groups is Group D containing four national champions - Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Defending champions FC Chelsea have been drawn in a weaker Group E then along with Italian champions Juventus they should move into the knockout stage past Ukrainians FC Shakhtar Donetsk and newcomers FC Nordjaelland from Denmark.

Last season finalists FC Bayern München after having had the Group of Death last term, this time around got an easier Group F in which they face Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France) and FC BATE Borisov (Belarus).


The Groups

Group A: FC Porto (Portugal), Dinamo Kyiv (Ukraine), FC Paris Saint-Germain (France), GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Group B: Arsenal FC (England), FC Schalke 04 (Germany), Olympiacos Piräus FC (Greece), HSC Montpellier (France)

Group C: AC Milan (Italy), FC Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), RSC Anderlecht (Belgium), FC Malaga (Spain)

Group D: Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Group E: Chelsea FC (England), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Juventus Torino (Italy), FC Nordjaelland (Denmark)

Group F: FC Bayern München (Germany), Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France), FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)

Group G: FC Barcelona (Spain), SL Benfica (Portugal), Spartak Moskva (Russia), Celtic Glasgow (Scotland)

Group H: Manchester United FC (England), Sporting Braga (Portugal), Galatasaray Istanbul (Turkey), CFR Cluj (Romania)

UEFA Super Cup: Barca win against Porto

UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona started the European season the way they ended the last with a title as they beat UEFA Europa League champions FC Porto 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco last night.



Barcelona is currently the club side to beat in Europe with their shot passing game the best football currently has to offer. And it was on display in Monaco as the Portuguese side had no real answer to tiki-taka football.



But Porto did make some initial inroads with Hulk and Joao Moutinho getting early chances for Porto. Once Barca settled down it was often one way traffic with Barca having 70% of the ball at the end of the first session with Andres Iniesta once more outstanding in midfield supplying the ball to Lionel Messi, David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez.



It was none other then Lionel Messi, yesterday named UEFA Player of the Year, who gave Barca a 39th minute first half lead as he intercepted a suicidal back-pass from Fredy Guarin; while new Barca signing Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0 in the 88th minute after the former Arsenal captain had to warm the bench for most of the match.



To make matters worse for FC Porto they ended the match with nine men, a game that started promisingly for them but ended as many would make expected against the Catalans. First Rolando got his second booking in the 86th minute, while Fredy Guarin got a straight red for a harsh foul on Javier Mascherano.