Man United Gets Tough Champions League Draw, As Messi And Ronaldo Set To Face Each Other.

Manchester United have been handed a tough draw on thier return to the 2020/21 Champions League season having missed out last season.

While two football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to face each other in the group stage for the first time ever.

The UEFA Champions League group stage draws had took place on Thursday 1 October at the RTS Studios, Nyon without club officials present because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the event was livestreamed at the UEFA website.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will face last season finalist PSG, as well as 2020 semi-finalist RB Leipzig, and Turkish gaints Istanbul Basaksehir who are appearing in the tournament proper for the first time in the Group H, a group which is considered to be this year’s group of death.

The Red Devils, will have to be at their best to overcome some of Europe’s elite, as French gaints PSG will want to get a revenge for their stunning defeat to Solskjaer’s side on that memorable night two season ago.

United had overturned a last-16 2-0 defeat from the first-leg at Old Trafford, to win the return-leg 3-1 at the Parc de Princes.

PSG will also be playing against RB Leipzig in the Group H, a side they defeated 3-0 in the semi-final last season before losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in their first ever final appearance.

Meanwhile Messi and Ronaldo will go head-to-head once more in the Champions League after Barcelona were drawn with Juventus in the Group G, along with Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and Hungarian club side Ferencvaros.

In their last 35 competitive meetings, Messi has won 16 times, while Ronaldo has won 10, with the remaining nine fixtures ending in a draw.

The rivals who have dominated world football in the last decade, have won 11 of the last 12 Ballons d'Or, with Messi winning a record six and Ronaldo five.

Although Ronaldo leads the way in Champions League successes, winning the trophy five times compared to Messi's four, and Ronaldo is also the highest holder of the UEFA Player of the Year award (3), surpassing Messi's (2), since it's inception in 2011.

In other groups, Defending champions Bayern Munich will face 2016 finalist Atletico Madrid in Group A.

Manchester City are set to embark in their 10th-consecutive Champions League campaign this season after shockingly crashing out in the quarter-final against Lyon last season. Pep Guardiola's men have been drawn with Porto, alongside Olympiakos and Marseille, two sides they have never met before in Group C.

Premier League champions Liverpool, who are 2019 Champions League winners, will face Ajax, Atalanta, and Midtjylland of Denmark in Group D.  

While in Group E, Chelsea will play debutants Rennes, Russian newcomers Krasnodar, and Sevilla who knocked-out Wolves and Man United on thier way to clinching a record-sixth Europa League title against Inter Milan in the final last season in Cologne. 

13th-time European Champions, Real Madrid will battle Inter Milan in an exciting ecounter to look forward to in Group B.

This year's group stage begins on Tuesday, 20 October, with the final on Saturday, 29 May 2021 at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul which was initially the host for last season's final before it was moved to Lisbon due to the global health crisis.

2020/21 group stage match dates:

Matchday 1: 20/21 October

Matchday 2: 27/28 October

Matchday 3: 3/4 November

Matchday 4: 24/25 November

Matchday 5: 1/2 December

Matchday 6: 8/9 December

The next draw date will be December 14th when UEFA will conduct the Round of 16 draw. Those games will be staged in February 2021.

According to reports, It remains to be seen whether spectators will be able to attend matches, with UEFA still deliberating of allowing fans back in stadium at 30 percent of capacity for Champions League and other events.

See the full draw Champions League group stage draws below;

• GROUP A: 

BAYERN MUNICH, ATLETICO MADRID, RED BULL SALZBERG, LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW.

• GROUP B: 

REAL MADRID, SHAKHTAR DONETSK, INTER MILAN, BORUSSIA MOONCHENGLADBACH.

• GROUP C: 

FC PORTO, MANCHESTER CITY, OLYMPIAKOS, MARSEILLE.

• GROUP D: 

LIVERPOOL, AJAX, ATALANTA, MIDTJYLLAND.

• GROUP E: 

SEVILLA, CHELSEA, KRASNODAR, RENNES.

• GROUP F: 

ZENIT ST PETERSBURG, BORUSSIA DORTMUND, LAZIO, CLUB BRUGGE.

• GROUP G: 

JUVENTUS, BARCELONA, DYNAMO KYIV, FERENCVAROS.

• GROUP H: 

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN, MANCHESTER UNITED, RB LEIPZIG, ISTANBUL BASAKSEHIR.