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Live Coverage: Champions League group-stage draw

Take a look back at how the Champions League group-stage draw unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report.
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The biggest teams in Europe found out who they would be facing in the Champions League group stage on Thursday when the draw was made in Monaco.

Arsenal learned that they would be taking on Bayern Munich, while Chelsea were pitted alongside Jose Mourinho's former club Porto.

Manchester United face home and away clashes against PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg, and Manchester City must meet Juventus, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Find out how the draw unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below.


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Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Champions League group-stage draw in Monaco. With the qualifying now done and dusted, we're down to the nitty gritty.

Pretty much all of the big guns from across Europe are in the hat, but here's a reminder as to who exactly will be involved this afternoon...



As is the case with these ceremonies, the great and the good are (mostly) in attendance. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are among the footballing royalty who have made the arduous trip to Monaco, while legends such as Javier Zanetti are also here.

The qualifying playoffs were concluded last night, with five teams cementing their places in the group-stage draw. Manchester United progressed in emphatic fashion thanks to a 7-1 aggregate triumph over Club Brugge, while Astana, Bayer Leverkusen, BATE and CSKA Moscow also advanced.

That familiar Champions League music has just been piped through the PA system, which means we're almost ready to go.

Peter Schmeichel is among the hosts for the draw ceremony, and he's actually pretty good at reading off an autocue.



Andres Iniesta is currently answering a few questions on stage following a brief segment showing how Barcelona won their fifth Champions League title last season. My Spanish is non-existent, but he sounds polite enough.

It looks like the draw itself is imminent as Andoni Zubizarreta, Javier Zanetti and Paolo Maldini make their way to the stage to assist in picking the balls out of the pots. Not a bad trio, that. It's also worth noting that Maldini and Zanetti seem incapable of aging. The pair look immaculate.

Hold onto your hats, we're about to get this show on the road! Promise!

GROUP E: Barcelona

GROUP C: Benfica

GROUP F: Bayern Munich

GROUP G: Chelsea

GROUP D: Juventus

GROUP H: Zenit

GROUP B: PSV Eindhoven

GROUP A: Paris Saint-Germain

GROUP C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid

GROUP F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal

GROUP B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United

GROUP G: Chelsea, Porto

GROUP A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid

GROUP H: Zenit, Valencia

GROUP D: Juventus, Manchester City

GROUP E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen



GROUP F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiacos

GROUP B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow

GROUP D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla

GROUP G: Chelsea, Porto, Dinamo Kyiv

GROUP A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk

GROUP C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasary

GROUP H: Zenit, Valencia, Lyon

GROUP E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma

GROUP C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana

GROUP A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo

GROUP E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, BATE

GROUP G: Chelsea, Porto, Dinamo Kyiv, Maccabi Tel Aviv

GROUP H: Zenit, Valencia, Lyon, Gent

GROUP F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiacos, Dinamo Zagreb

GROUP B: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg

GROUP D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach

And there we have it. There are some pretty tasty groups in among that lot. The main talking points are that Arsenal will have to face Bayern Munich, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will be coming up against former club Porto, Manchester City have been pitted alongside last year's finalists Juventus, and Manchester United have tricky ties against PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg.

Here's the draw in full for those who like silky Champions League graphics...



That's all from our live coverage of today's Champions League group-stage draw. Thanks for your company, we hope to see you again soon. Goodbye!

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A general shot of the Champions League trophy.
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