For the second time in three seasons, defending champions Manchester United will face Celtic in the group stages of the Champions League. United, who in 2006 beat Celtic 3-2 at Old Trafford before losing the return 1-0, will also play Villarreal from Spain and Aalborg of Denmark in Group E.

Meanwhile Liverpool's reward for scraping through against Standard Liège in extra time was the toughest group of all the English sides, with PSV Eindhoven, Marseille and Fernando Torres' former club Atletico Madrid joining them in Group D.

Last season's beaten finalists Chelsea won't be too disappointed with their draw. They face Roma, Bordeaux and Champions League debutants CFR Cluj of Romania in Group A. Arsenal also look like having a straightforward route to the knockout stages: they play FC Porto, Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev in Group G.

The British teams will be relieved to have avoided Group F - where Olympique Lyonnais, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest and Fiorentina face each other - while Group H, with contains Real Madrid, Juventus, last season's Uefa Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg and Bate Borisov, also looks to be a tough group.

During the draw, Uefa handed out its European Club Player of the Year awards, with beaten finalists Chelsea dominating the voting. Petr Cech was voted goalkeeper of the year, John Terry won defender of the year and Frank Lampard won midfielder of the year for the Blues while Cristiano Ronaldo predictably picked up the award for forward of the year.

The draw in full

Group A: Chelsea, Roma, Bordeaux, CFR Cluj.

Group B: Internazionale, Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos, Anorthosis Famagusta.

Group C: Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Basel,
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille, Atletico Madrid

Group E: Manchester United, Villarreal
Celtic, Aalborg.

Group F: Olympique Lyonnais, Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, Fiorentina

Group G: Arsenal, FC Porto, Fenerbahce, Dynamo Kiev

Group H: Real Madrid, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, Bate Borisov