Newcastle have been dealt a fiendish set of assignments against Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Milan in their first Champions League group stage campaign since the 2002-03 season.
There were gasps around the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo when Eddie Howe’s side, who finished fourth in last season’s Premier League, were the final team to be drawn in Group F. The draw sends them to Germany and Italy to face two old powers but the biggest intrigue may lie in their meetings with the French champions, PSG, who are Qatari-owned and have risen to superpower status on the continental scene with the kind of trajectory the Saudi-run Newcastle want to emulate.
In another high-octane pairing Harry Kane and Bayern Munich will face Manchester United in Group A, bringing the England captain up against an old domestic rival just weeks after his switch to the perennial Bundesliga winners.
It is the sides’ first meeting on this stage since the 2013-14 quarter-finals, when Bayern prevailed 4-2 on aggregate, although the match-up is best known for United’s dramatic victory in the 1999 final. The presence of Kane, whose move from Tottenham was made with the clear ambition of a tilt at the Champions League, adds an extra dimension given he was United’s top centre-forward target this summer. Eventually they turned their attentions elsewhere, deterred by the financial package involved. United will also face Galatasaray, meaning an encounter with their former player Wilfried Zaha, and the Danish champions, FC Copenhagen.
In defending their title Manchester City will be far from despondent with a lower-profile draw against RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in Group G. They defeated Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate, including a 7-0 second-leg win at the Etihad, as recently as March in last season’s last 16. While a trip to Red Star will provide a challenging atmosphere there seem few serious obstacles between Pep Guardiola and another run at the knockouts.
Harry Kane and his Bayern Munich teammates will take on Manchester United. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Similarly, Arsenal will consider their return to the elite level after a six-year absence could have brought sterner tests. Group B matches them with PSV Eindhoven, Lens and the Europa League champions, Sevilla, none of whom were champions of their domestic leagues last season.
Celtic were drawn with Feyenoord, Atlético Madrid and Lazio in Group E while an attractive Group C pits the debutants Union Berlin against Real Madrid, Napoli and Braga. The Ukrainian champions, Shakhtar Donetsk, who will play their home games in Hamburg, have Barcelona, Porto and Royal Antwerp in Group H; Group D brings together Benfica, Internazionale, Red Bull Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
The draw foreshadows the end of an era for the Champions League. All of its editions since 1992 have contained at least one group stage of teams divided into pools of four but next season’s format will change dramatically to a “Swiss system”, in which 36 sides will play eight matches each and be ranked together in one league. This season’s competition will be the first since 2002-03 that Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar will not feature. They have been the biggest names in world football during that period but Messi has joined Inter Miami and his two peers have signed for clubs in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema, who sits behind Messi, Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski in the all-time list of Champions League top scorers, has also joined a Saudi club, Al-Ittihad. There is a certain amount of pressure on the tournament to generate or amplify new stars, especially given the troublesome presence of a cash-rich and celebrity-hungry Saudi Pro League.
The gala event in Monaco provided temporary distraction for Uefa after a controversy-mired week that has seen one of its vice-presidents, the Spanish football federation chief, Luis Rubiales, suspended for 90 days by Fifa pending disciplinary proceedings. Rubiales’ fate has dominated the agenda since his unsolicited kiss on the lips of Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s win in the Women’s World Cup final.
