MONACO, Monaco - European greats Real Madrid and Liverpool will meet again in the group stage of the Champions League after a draw on Thursday that promised many reunions.
[b]Russell Westbrook Jersey[/b] . Aiming to be the first club to retain world footballs most coveted club trophy for 25 years, the road for ten-time winner Madrid leads to five-time champion Liverpool on Oct. 22. "Its going to be a very tough game in their home," said Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Madrid team also faces Basel and newcomer Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria. "I think in general the group is nice. Its going to be good for Real Madrid." Madrid and Liverpools past history includes the English teams victories in the 1981 final and a 4-0 rout at Anfield in the Round of 16 six seasons ago. Star forwards Luis Suarez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic can both return to former club Ajax in a group where their current teams, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, are favoured. APOEL of Cyprus completes the group. Suarez is next eligible for the Champions League, after serving his four-month ban for biting, on Nov. 5 when Barcelona visits Amsterdam. There, he earned the nickname "Cannibal of Ajax" for sinking his teeth into a Dutch league opponent in 2010. In a draw heavy with England vs. Germany repeat rivalries, Bayern Munich will face Manchester City and Arsenal has been grouped with Borussia Dortmund, each for the third time in four seasons. Bayern and Man City also played CSKA Moscow last season, and they are now joined by Roma in perhaps the most difficult quartet. "I think this is the toughest group," Man City director of football Txiki Begiristain said. "We are ready to fight for everything." The eight four-team groups begin play on Sept. 16-17. The top two teams in each group advance to knockout round. Madrid and Liverpool provide almost half of the 36 European Cup and Champions League titles shared among 10 former winners in the draw. Liverpool, runner-up to title-winning Man City last season, returns to the Champions League after a four-season absence. "That was last seasons hard work, what we were working toward," manager Brendan Rodgers said, "getting Liverpool back into a competition where we are synonymous." Liverpool kicks off on Sept. 16 hosting Ludogorets which debuted in European competitions just two years ago. The Bulgarian team had perhaps the most memorable qualifying route: It got a 90th-minute equalizer in a playoff Wednesday against Steaua Bucharest before defender Cosmin Moti had to go in goal in extra time and saved two penalties in the decisive shootout. Arsenal and Dortmund, both beaten finalists in recent years, will also face Galatasaray and Anderlecht. "We surely know Arsenal the best," said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp, whose team advanced with the top-seeded English side a year ago. Chelsea and Schalke also advanced together last season and now will play Sporting Lisbon and Maribor. Atletico Madrid, last seasons runner-up, was grouped with Juventus, Olympiakos and Malmo, the 1979 runner-up as a semi-professional club. "Its a likable group. Of course there are hidden dangers," said Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta, noting a home opener against Malmo, a clear league leader deep into the Swedish season. In perhaps the toughest group to predict, Benfica is with Zenit St. Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco. Despite having Colombia forward Radamel Falcao, Monacos absence from UEFA competitions since 2006 left it among the lowest-ranked teams. The longest travel times face the group of Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao and BATE Borisov of Belarus. By UEFA order for security reasons, Shakhtar will play home matches in Lviv in western Ukraine. Its home stadium in eastern Ukraine which borders Russia, was damaged this week in the conflict there. The Champions Leagues commercial strength allows UEFA to share nearly 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) in prize money among the 32 teams. UEFA pays a basic 8.6 million euros ($11.5 million) fee for entering the group, plus 1 million euros ($1.34 million) per win and 500,000 euros ($670,000) per draw. Teams also get a share of television rights money. The final will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on June 6.
[b]Ray Allen Jersey[/b] . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier.
[b]Shawn Kemp Jersey[/b] . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard.David Willey pushed his cause for inclusion in Englands opening World Twenty20 match by taking a hat-trick while playing for a Mumbai XI against his team-mates in the final warm-up game. England begin their campaign against the West Indies on Wednesday and the Yorkshire all-rounder, who is vying with Liam Plunkett and Liam Dawson for the last place in the bowling line-up, was one of four squad members included in the local side along with Adil Rashid, James Vince and Jos Buttler and he ended with three wickets in as many balls.Joe Root was his first victim after holing out to long-on, before Moeen Ali top-edged a short ball and was caught by a back-peddling Buttler behind the stumps. David Willey celebrates dismissing Chris Jordan during the warm-up game That brought Chris Jordan to the crease and his attempted cover drive looped a catch to Jay Bista on the boundary as Willey demonstrated his death bowling credentials at the Brabourne Stadium.England finished with 177-8, Root having top-scored with 48, while Ben Stokes showed some form with 30 from 23 balls.Rashid also impressed in his first three overs, dismissing openers Jason Roy (32) and Alex Hales (37) before being smashed for two big sixes by Root in his fourth. He finished with 2-33, with Willeys late show earning him 3-35.Vince made 45 from 38 balls in Mumbais reply before he was bowled by Jordan, who repeated the feat against Buttler, who looked in good shape for his 25 from 16 balls. Joe Root top-scored with 48 for England, with Jos Buttler keeping wicket for Mumbai Bista top scored for Mumbai with 51 - eventually falling to Reece Topley - but it was not enough for them as England ran out victors by 14 runs after restricting their hosts to 163-6 from their 20 overs.
[b]Kevin Durant Jersey[/b]. We werent very good in the field today, but weve got a couple of days to brush up on that and make sure when we start the group stages, were absolutely on it, admitted Root.I think our preparation has been good, weve worked extremely hard individually and as a team and when its come to games the guys have stepped up and performed under pressure.Thats exactly what we need if we are to be very successful at this tournament. England vice-captain Joe Root says they must cope with the pressure in the World Twenty 20 following their victory in the final warm-up match. Under pressure the bowlers performed very well at the death, but now its about doing it when it counts.The best thing is weve got these experiences to call on when the tournament starts and were actually under real pressure when it really matters.Fingers crossed the guys can take all that confidence forward into the group games.Watch West Indies v England on Wednesday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 2 HD at 1:30pm. Or watch live for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
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