Cristiano Ronaldo will head back to Old Trafford after Manchester United were drawn in Champions League Group H with Italian champions Juventus.
Aside from Ronaldo and Juventus providing a difficult challenge, United should face easier rides against Valencia and Young Boys, who return to the group stages this year.
However Ronaldo’s reunion can’t be dismissed as the 33-year-old tries to win the Champions League for a fourth year in a row.
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Cristiano Ronaldo will head to Old Trafford to face Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United
The pressure is only increasing on manager Jose Mourinho as United, after a poor start to the Premier League season, face Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford.
The ties against Juventus are going to be marquee occasions, especially because of the match-up between Mourinho and Ronaldo, who joined the Italian club from Real Madrid for £100million in the summer.
They may share the same super agent in Jorge Mendes but the pair had a fraught relationship when Mourinho managed Real.
Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said: ‘Juventus is probably the hardest team to play against in Europe right now because of the signing of Ronaldo. Everyone sees them as rebuilding the whole Italian football scene again.’
The Champions League trophy was on display in Monaco as the draw was made
Three of the four English teams have received difficult draws. Last season’s finalists Liverpool also have a tough group to negotiate against Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: ‘PSG are one of the most exciting teams in the world and I think their target is to win the Champions League, so that will be two interesting matches.
‘We beat Napoli in pre-season but it goes without saying these two games will be completely different challenges.
‘Red Star, I watched them come through in qualifying, and it will be again a very very intense atmosphere. Last season is last season and now we have to do it again.’
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Mo Salah seemed remarkably unperturbed when Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos tapped him on the shoulder he dislocated after tangling with the Spanish defender in the final last May.
Ramos was returning to his seat behind Salah after receiving his trophy for being UEFA’s defender of the season.
The Champions League draw for this season was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco
Tottenham, who face Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan in Group B, look like they will be playing most of their home games at Wembley with their new ground not expected to open until December.
UEFA have warned that Tottenham may have to play at Wembley throughout the tournament. Deputy secretary-general Giorgio Marchetti said: ‘In principle the regulations state that you have to play in a single stadium but we will have to see.’
A spokesman for Inter Milan said: ‘We would probably prefer to play at Wembley because of its history. It would be a nice occasion, but we are happy to play at their new stadium.’
Elsewhere, history beckons for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola after they were handed the easiest of Champions League draws in Monaco.
City, who have made an unbeaten start to the defence of their title, want to make a serious challenge in Europe after underachieving for a number of seasons considering their wealth of talent.
A group involving Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon and Hoffenheim gives them the best possible chance of progressing to the knockout stages without too much fuss.
It is also an encouraging omen for Guardiola’s European ambitions that they are in Group F, with 40 per cent of Champions League winners — six out of the last 15 — emerging from that group since 2004.
Ander Herrera shared a picture of him and Manchester United team mates watching the draw
Real Madrid, winners in each of the last three seasons, will face 2018 semi-finalists Roma, along with CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen from the Czech Republic.
The final this season will be held at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium. If Diego Simeone’s men want to attend the party at their own house, they must negotiate a group featuring Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Club Brugge.
Bayern Munich, once again among the favorites for the title, are in Group B with Benfica, Ajax, and AEK Athens – who knocked out Celtic in the qualifiers.
The weakest pool appears to be Group D, with Russian champions Lokomotiv Moscow as top seeds. Porto, Schalke and Galatasaray will all be eyeing a place in the last 16.
Real Madrid celebrate winning the Champions League after beating Juventus in May