• Borussia Dortmund and Ajax also await Mancini's side
• Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal should progress
Manchester City must negotiate a daunting group comprised of reigning league champions if they are to progress into the knockout phase of the European Cup this season after the draw in Monte Carlo flung the Premier League winners against imposing opponents in Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax.
City failed to emerge from their section last season but arguably face a tougher group this time around, with their football development executive Patrick Vieira conceding Group D was "the most difficult" drawn at the Grimaldi Forum. The Frenchman suggested Roberto Mancini's side must find inspiration in Chelsea's unlikely success in this competition back in May, with the holders also to face three current league champions in Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and the Danes, Nordsjaelland.
Yet it is City's group that appears the most awkward with a trip to the Bernabéu to play José Mourinho's Real to kickstart the campaign on 18 September. Teams in the section have claimed 14 European Cups between them – City await their first – with the Bundesliga champions, Dortmund, having remarkably started in the fourth pot of seeds. "It's not easy at all," said Vieira. "To be honest, it is the most difficult group because we are playing the Spanish champions, the Dutch champions and the German champions. It's complicated.
"But our aim is to go as far in the competition as we can, and we can see what can be achieved by what Chelsea achieved last season. For us, winning the Premier League and having the experience in the Champions League last year will bring the belief that we can win. It started with winning the FA Cup, then the Premier League. The more you win, the more belief you have – not just the players, but the whole club – and that will have a perfect impact for the competition. The players will be 100% excited to go to the Bernabéu."
None more so, perhaps, than Mario Balotelli who was described as "unmanageable" by Mourinho during their time together at Internazionale, the Portuguese having succeeded Mancini at San Siro. "Mario is Mario and José is José," said Vieira, who also played under Mourinho at Inter. "One thing that is sure is that facing Madrid, Dortmund and Ajax, Mario will want to play, perform and score goals. With the way he played in the Euros there is expectation for all of us in Mario."
The competitive nature of the group was acknowledged by Real's Cristiano Ronaldo, who will return to Manchester on 21 November. "It's pretty difficult, the most difficult of them all," he said. "But we are ready. We are the champions of Spain and we are ready to compete with anybody. In my opinion the best two teams in the world are there in Spain: Real Madrid and Barcelona."
Chelsea must deflect the considerable challenge posed by Juventus, last season's Serie A champions, in defending their title and will welcome the Italians to Stamford Bridge for Group E's first fixture next month. Shakhtar Donetsk represent similarly awkward opponents while Nordsjaelland, based in the Zealand town of Farum which has a population of a little over 18,000, are unknown quantities competing at this level for the first time. Kasper Hjulmand's side will play their home games in Copenhagen.
Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to a more appealing Group H – in which Manchester United have been drawn against Braga, Galatasaray and the Romanians, Cluj – by warning his team against complacency given their toils when failing to escape their section last year. "After the experience of last year, we don't want to make any stupid errors this time," said the United manager. "We will play our strongest team to make sure we get through."
Arsenal will travel to the French champions Montpellier, from whom they signed Olivier Giroud for £10m this summer, in their opening game with matches against Schalke and Olympiakos making up Group B. The Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, was bullish about his own team's prospects despite being drawn against Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow, who include the Scottish club's former midfielder Aiden McGeady in their ranks. "We'll aim to win [the group]," he said. "It is maybe unrealistic, but why do you want to finish third?
"Barcelona are joint favourites [to win the tournament], Benfica will be strong, and Spartak have the financial clout. But anything can happen in the group stages, particularly if we can start the group well and maximise the home advantage. It's just great to be back and go and enjoy it and see where it takes us."
Read more... http://www.chelseamashup.com/2012/09/02/manchester-city-to-face-real-madrid-in-toughest-champions-league-group/
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