United To Face Celtic Again

Champions League holders Manchester United
were drawn with Scottish champions Celtic in
the group stages of this year's competition.

The British pair will also face Spaniards Villa-
rreal and Danish side Aalborg in Group E.

The four English sides were guaranteed to be
kept apart after being made top seeds, but

Celtic could have faced any one of them after being drawn in the third pot of clubs.

They will get their chance to test themselves against the English champions in two mouthwatering clashes.

The fixtures will pit Celtic manager Gordon Strachan against his one-time boss
Sir Alex Ferguson.

The pair met in the Champions League group stages in 2006/07, with Celtic
winning 1-0 at home but Manchester United edging the return fixture 3-2
at Old Trafford.

"It was a great event the last time we played," said United chief executive
David Gill. "Both clubs have passionate fans and we're looking forward to it.

Celtic chairman John Reid added: "It's fabulous for Celtic fans. There are no
easy groups, there are no free passes in Europe.

"We're just proud to be Scotland's representative in there and to be playing
the European champions."

United star Cristiano Ronaldo was at the draw in Monaco, where he was
named Uefa's European Club Footballer of the Year.

Ronaldo scored eight goals in the competition last season and also won the
award for the forward of the year.

Full Champions League draw:

Group A

CHELSEA
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

Group B

Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C

Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D

LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Group E

MAN UTD
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

Group F

Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

Group G

ARSENAL
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

Group H

Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

Games will be played on the following dates:

16/17 September
30 September/1 October
21/22 October
4/5 November
25/26 November
9/10 December